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Characterization of risk factors for obstructive sleep apnea and its association with absenteeism among nurses
Khosro Sadeghniiat-Haghighi1, Arezu Najafi, Sahar Eftekhari
1At Tehran University of Medical Sciences in Tehran, Iran, Khosro Sadeghniiat-Haghighi is a professor at the Sleep Breathing Disorders Research Center, Arezu Najafi is an associate professor at the Occupational Sleep Research Center, Sahar Eftekhari is an associate professor at the Center for Research on Occupational Diseases, Atefeh Behkar is a research assistant at the Occupational Sleep Research Center, and Samareh Tarkhan works at the Center for Research on Occupational Diseases.
Purpose:
To characterize risk factors associated with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and its relationship with nurses' absenteeism.
Methods:
A cross-sectional study was conducted from 2018 to 2020 at a 1,000-bed academic hospital complex and biomedical research facility in Tehran, Iran. Participants were selected through consecutive sampling after obtaining ethical approval and informed consent. Data on demographics, medical conditions, occupational characteristics, and absenteeism were collected through face-to-face interviews. The STOP-Bang questionnaire was utilized to assess the probability of OSA. Statistical tests included the Mann-Whitney U, t-test, Chi-square, and multivariable regression.
Results:
In this study involving 304 nurses, the majority were female (81.3%), with an average age of 35. About 27 participants (8.9%) had a high probability of OSA, with male sex, older age, higher body mass index, neck circumference, and diastolic BP identified as the main determinants of OSA. Additionally, shift work and night shifts were associated with increased absenteeism, while sex showed no significant association with absenteeism rates among nurses.
Conclusion:
Male sex, neck circumference (obesity), night shifts, and diastolic BP can predict OSA risk. However, unauthorized absence from work is not associated with a high risk for OSA (STOP-BANG ≥3) or the individual risk factors of OSA.
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