The prevalence of fatigue, sleepiness, and sleep disorders among petrochemical employees in Iran

Abstract

ABSTRACT Background: Fatigue, sleepiness, and sleep disorders adversely impact workers’ health, safety, and performance. Purpose: The present study aimed to assess the relationship between fatigue and sleep problems in petrochemical workers in Iran. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 501 randomly selected employees of the petrochemical industry participated. The Persian version of Swedish Occupational Fatigue Inventory (P-SOFI-20) and the Persian version of Occupational Fatigue/Exhaustion Recovery (P-OFFER-15) were used to assess fatigue dimensions. Severity of sleepiness was measured by the Karolinska Sleepiness Scale (KSS). Results: The petrochemical employees reported moderate levels of fatigue. The results also revealed that mean scores on different fatigue dimensions were significantly higher among those who had sleep disorders as compared to individuals without sleep disorders (P < 0.001). The KSS data showed that these employees also suffered from sleepiness. Significant positive relationships were found between sleepiness and fatigue (P-SOFI-20). Conclusions: Petrochemical employees suffered from fatigue and sleepiness concurrently. As such, employees’ health, safety and productivity may be adversely affected.