TY - JOUR
T1 - Shift work, clinically significant sleep disorders and mental health in a representative, cross-sectional sample of young working adults
AU - Reynolds, Amy C.
AU - Lechat, Bastien
AU - Melaku, Yohannes Adama
AU - Sansom, Kelly
AU - Brown, Brandon W.J.
AU - Crowther, Meagan E.
AU - Wanstall, Sian
AU - Maddison, Kathleen J.
AU - Walsh, Jennifer H.
AU - Straker, Leon
AU - Adams, Robert J.T.
AU - McArdle, Nigel
AU - Eastwood, Peter R.
N1 - Funding Information:
We would like to acknowledge the Raine Study participants and their families for their ongoing participation in the study and the Raine Study team for study co-ordination and data collection. We acknowledge The University of Western Australia Centre for Sleep Science for utilisation of the facility and the sleep study technicians. We also thank the NHMRC for their long-term contribution to funding the study over the last 30 years. The core management of the Raine Study is funded by The University of Western Australia, Curtin University, Telethon Kids Institute, Women and Infants Research Foundation, Edith Cowan University, Murdoch University, The University of Notre Dame Australia, and the Raine Medical Research Foundation. The Raine Study Gen2-22-year follow-up was funded by NHMRC project grants 1027449, 1044840 and 1021858. Funding was also generously provided by Safe Work Australia.
Funding Information:
We would like to acknowledge the Raine Study participants and their families for their ongoing participation in the study and the Raine Study team for study co-ordination and data collection. We acknowledge The University of Western Australia Centre for Sleep Science for utilisation of the facility and the sleep study technicians. We also thank the NHMRC for their long-term contribution to funding the study over the last 30 years. The core management of the Raine Study is funded by The University of Western Australia, Curtin University, Telethon Kids Institute, Women and Infants Research Foundation, Edith Cowan University, Murdoch University, The University of Notre Dame Australia, and the Raine Medical Research Foundation. The Raine Study Gen2-22-year follow-up was funded by NHMRC project grants 1027449, 1044840 and 1021858. Funding was also generously provided by Safe Work Australia.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022, The Author(s).
PY - 2022/12
Y1 - 2022/12
N2 - Mental health conditions confer considerable global disease burden in young adults, who are also the highest demographic to work shifts, and of whom 20% meet criteria for a sleep disorder. We aimed to establish the relationship between the combined effect of shift work and sleep disorders, and mental health. The Raine Study is the only longitudinal, population-based birth cohort in the world with gold-standard, Level 1 measurement of sleep (polysomnography, PSG) collected in early adulthood. Participants (aged 22y) underwent in-laboratory PSG and completed detailed sleep questionnaires. Multivariable adjusted robust linear regression models were conducted to explore associations with anxiety (GAD7) and depression (PHQ9), adjusted for sex, health comorbidities, and work hours/week. Data were from 660 employed young adults (27.3% shift workers). At least one clinically significant sleep disorder was present in 18% of shift workers (day, evening and night shifts) and 21% of non-shift workers (p = 0.51); 80% were undiagnosed. Scores for anxiety and depression were not different between shift and non-shift workers (p = 0.29 and p = 0.82); but were higher in those with a sleep disorder than those without (Md(IQR) anxiety: 7.0(4.0–10.0) vs 4.0(1.0–6.0)), and depression: (9.0(5.0–13.0) vs 4.0(2.0–6.0)). Considering evening and night shift workers only (i.e. excluding day shift workers) revealed an interaction between shift work and sleep disorder status for anxiety (p = 0.021), but not depression (p = 0.96), with anxiety scores being highest in those shift workers with a sleep disorder (Md(IQR) 8.5(4.0–12.2). We have shown that clinical sleep disorders are common in young workers and are largely undiagnosed. Measures of mental health do not appear be different between shift and non-shift workers. These findings indicate that the identification and treatment of clinical sleep disorders should be prioritised for young workers as these sleep disorders, rather than shift work per se, are associated with poorer mental health. These negative mental health effects appear to be greatest in those who work evening and/or night shift and have a sleep disorder.
AB - Mental health conditions confer considerable global disease burden in young adults, who are also the highest demographic to work shifts, and of whom 20% meet criteria for a sleep disorder. We aimed to establish the relationship between the combined effect of shift work and sleep disorders, and mental health. The Raine Study is the only longitudinal, population-based birth cohort in the world with gold-standard, Level 1 measurement of sleep (polysomnography, PSG) collected in early adulthood. Participants (aged 22y) underwent in-laboratory PSG and completed detailed sleep questionnaires. Multivariable adjusted robust linear regression models were conducted to explore associations with anxiety (GAD7) and depression (PHQ9), adjusted for sex, health comorbidities, and work hours/week. Data were from 660 employed young adults (27.3% shift workers). At least one clinically significant sleep disorder was present in 18% of shift workers (day, evening and night shifts) and 21% of non-shift workers (p = 0.51); 80% were undiagnosed. Scores for anxiety and depression were not different between shift and non-shift workers (p = 0.29 and p = 0.82); but were higher in those with a sleep disorder than those without (Md(IQR) anxiety: 7.0(4.0–10.0) vs 4.0(1.0–6.0)), and depression: (9.0(5.0–13.0) vs 4.0(2.0–6.0)). Considering evening and night shift workers only (i.e. excluding day shift workers) revealed an interaction between shift work and sleep disorder status for anxiety (p = 0.021), but not depression (p = 0.96), with anxiety scores being highest in those shift workers with a sleep disorder (Md(IQR) 8.5(4.0–12.2). We have shown that clinical sleep disorders are common in young workers and are largely undiagnosed. Measures of mental health do not appear be different between shift and non-shift workers. These findings indicate that the identification and treatment of clinical sleep disorders should be prioritised for young workers as these sleep disorders, rather than shift work per se, are associated with poorer mental health. These negative mental health effects appear to be greatest in those who work evening and/or night shift and have a sleep disorder.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85138898739&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1038/s41598-022-20308-2
DO - 10.1038/s41598-022-20308-2
M3 - Article
C2 - 36171220
AN - SCOPUS:85138898739
SN - 2045-2322
VL - 12
JO - Scientific Reports
JF - Scientific Reports
IS - 1
M1 - 16255
ER -
