0632 The relationship of shift work disorder with depression, anxiety, and stress

Abstract

Abstract Introduction Shift work-related circadian misalignment can adversely impact health and well-being. Shift workers often experience disturbances in mood and impairments in waking vigilance and cognitive performance. Shift workers also commonly experience disturbed sleep. Shift work disorder (SWD) is a circadian rhythm sleep disorder characterized by insomnia symptoms during the sleep episode and sleepiness during the wake episode, temporally associated with shift schedules. Here, we examined the association between SWD and mental health. Methods Participants were adults (18 y+) who engaged in non-standard work shifts (morning, evening, night, rotating, other). Data were collected via online survey, and included questions about demographics, job details, sleep, and mental health. Participants completed the validated SWD Questionnaire, assessing the presence and severity of symptoms, categorizing individuals as high or low risk for SWD based on International Classification of Sleep Disorders criteria. Participants completed the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21). Higher scores on each DASS-21 subscale indicate higher symptom severity. Linear regression was used to determine the relationship between the presence of SWD and depression, anxiety, and stress symptom scores, adjusting for age, gender, shift work type, self-reported work-day sleep duration, and alcohol use frequency. Results Sixty participants were included (60% female, mean age: 37 [SD: 12.2] y). High risk for SWD was seen in 55% of participants. Sleep duration was on average ~40 minutes shorter in those with vs. without SWD (5.61 [1.24] h vs. 6.31 [1.31] h, p=.037). Participants with SWD reported significantly higher depressive symptoms than those without (B=3.59, SE=1.52, 95% CI [0.54, 6.65], p=.022). SWD was not associated with anxiety, and was marginally associated with stress (B=2.48, SE=1.26, 95% CI [-0.06, 5.02], p=.055). Age was significantly associated with lower stress symptoms (B=-0.11, SE=0.05, 95% CI [-0.22, -0.01], p=.029). No other covariates were significantly associated with depression, anxiety, or stress (all other ps ≥.10). Conclusion SWD was common. Its presence was associated with higher severity of depression symptoms. Intervention approaches targeting underlying causes of SWD (e.g., strategic light-dark exposure and cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia that is adapted for shift work) should be tested as methods to protect shift workers’ mental health. Support (if any)