Exploring the Relationship Between Selective Mental Health Problems and Sleep Quality Among Security Guards Working...

The nature of work of the security guards could severely affect their physical and mental health. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to assess the prevalence of depression, anxiety, stress, and sleep quality, and associated sociodemographic factors among security guards working in four security agencies associated with hospitals in Bengaluru Urban District.

This study included 171 randomly selected security guards working in four security agencies. A semi-structured, validated interview schedule was administered to obtain sociodemographic, clinical, and anthropometric details, and to assess mental health issues (DASS-21) and sleep quality (Sleep Quality Scale).

Among 171 security guards, 140 (81.87%) were male and mean age of 41.8 ± 10.7 years. Sixty-eight (39.76%) guards were on night duty at the time of the interview. Regarding lifestyle diseases, 107 (62.5%) were obese, 85 (49.7%) were known hypertensives, and 27 (15.7%) were known diabetics. In this study, 21 (11.1%) exhibited depression of them 8 (4.7%) had mild-to-moderate symptoms. Anxiety was reported among 25 (14.6%), and moderate anxiety was the most common 11 (6.4%). Stress affected 64 (37.4%), with 24 (14.0%) experiencing extremely severe stress. Sleep quality was reported as fair by 58 (14.6%) and poor by one (0.6%). Significant association was found between night duty and stress (P = 0.045).

The study highlights the presence of mental health problems (depression: 11.2%, anxiety: 14.6%, stress: 37.4%) and 15.2% of the security guards reported poor or fair sleep quality. Thus, emphasizing the need for workplace health interventions even for security guards.