Abstract
Poor sleep is associated with bad health outcomes, worse wellbeing and decreases in performance, productivity and safety at work. Police officers are exposed to several risk factors including extended work schedules, shift work, occupational stress, dangerous and traumatic events and can, as such, develop sleep problems. The aim of the present study was to analyze the sleep quality among police officers. A systematic literature search, in PubMed/MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Scopus, ISI/Web of Science (WoS) and the Cochrane Library was conducted. Original articles, published in English, French, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese, the primary objective of which was the evaluation of the quality of sleep through the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) in Police Forces, were selected. From an initial sample of 1,149 studies, 13 articles were included in the meta-analysis (3,722 police officers). The pooled prevalence of bad sleep quality in police officers was 51% [95%CI 42–60%]. The pooled global score of the PSQI was 5.6 [95%CI 5.0–6.3], corresponding to a low average quality. At the meta-regressions, statistically significant associations could be found for work seniority (in terms of years of service) and being on shift. The poor quality of sleep in police officers could have negative consequences for workers’ health and for the safety of third parts. The implementation of health and sleep hygiene promotion programs in police forces is strongly recommended.
Highlights
IntroductionGood sleep is important for maintaining general health and wellbeing, in that sleep is an integral component of human life and can impact on several variables and parameters of human physiology
Good sleep is important for maintaining general health and wellbeing, in that sleep is an integral component of human life and can impact on several variables and parameters of human physiology.Sleep disorders are common in the general population and affect up to one third of adults, both in high- and low-medium income countries [1]
From the quantitative synthesis several studies (n = 6) [36,40,48] were based on the same sample obtained from the “Buffalo Cardio-Metabolic Occupational Police Stress” (BCOPS) cohort trial and, as such, we included only the publication of Charles et al (2011), having the largest sample size [36]
Summary
Good sleep is important for maintaining general health and wellbeing, in that sleep is an integral component of human life and can impact on several variables and parameters of human physiology. Sleep disorders are common in the general population and affect up to one third of adults, both in high- and low-medium income countries [1]. Sleep problems are associated with bad health outcomes, and poor sleep quality has been shown to be associated with poor food choice, unhealthy dietary intakes [2], high body fat and obesity [3]. Deregulation of hypothalamic functions in sleep disorders can contribute to these alterations [4]. Bad sleep is a risk factor for metabolic syndrome [5] and. Res. Public Health 2019, 16, 885; doi:10.3390/ijerph16050885 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph
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