Shift work and sleep quality among police officers: is age a factor?

Details

• Personal Author:
  Andrew M ; Fekedulegn D ; Gu JK ; Jenkins E ; Mnatsakanova A ; Violanti J
• Description:
  Background: According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics about 40% of people over the age of 55 were working or actively looking for work in 2014. That number is expected to increase fastest for people ages 65-74 and 75 + through 2024. Aging is one of the most cited individual factors for decreased shiftwork tolerance and sleep problems. This may be a critical problem in first responder occupations that require quick decision making and alertness. Significant associations of night shift with elevated prevalence of poor sleep quality among police officers have been reported. The aim of the present cross-sectional study was to assess whether age modified the association between shiftwork and sleep quality in police officers. Methods: A total of 363 police officers with complete data from the Buffalo Cardio-Metabolic Occupational Police Stress (BCOPS) study were included (2004-2009). The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) questionnaire was used to assess sleep quality. A PSQI global score of >5 was defined as 'poor' sleep quality. Electronic payroll work history records of each officer during the past month was used to define dominant shift (day, afternoon, or night) as the shift the officer spent the highest percent of his/her workhours. Analyses of variance/ covariance were used to examine mean global sleep score across shiftwork categories. Analyses were stratified by age using median age (40 years) as cut point to create the two strata. Results: The mean age of officers was 41 years; 28% female. Shiftwork was significantly associated with PSQI global score. Associations were adjusted for age, sex, and race/ ethnicity. The officers who worked night shift had significantly worse sleep quality compared to those who worked day shift [Mean (SE): 7.48(0.4) vs. 5.90(0.3), respectively, with p-value = 0.004]. When stratified by median age, the associations remained significant only among younger officers (≤ 40 years): [Day Shift: 5.50 (0.4), Afternoon Shift: 6.49 (0.4), Night Shift: 7.71 (0.4), p-value =0.001]. The adjusted mean global score was significantly higher among young officers who worked night shift compared to those who worked day or afternoon shifts (p-value=0.0003, and 0.044, respectively). Discussion: Results of this study indicate significant associations of sleep quality with shiftwork among younger officers (< 40 years). Factors such as increased social activity, family responsibilities, or second jobs may account for poorer sleep among younger officers. Additionally, older officers with higher seniority tend to seek positions which involve less shift work, particularly night shifts. Further work is needed to examine socialpsychological factors affecting sleep quality among police officers in order to create a healthier shift work environment in policing.
• Subjects:
  Accidents, Occupational Coloring Agents Epidemiology Occupational Health Safety Surveys And Questionnaires
• Keywords:
  Age Factors Aging Cross Sectional Studies Law Enforcement Workers Police Officers Shift Work Sleep
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Abstract
• Place as Subject:
  New York ; OSHA Region 2 ; OSHA Region 3 ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  135
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20064617
• Citation:
  National Occupational Injury Research Symposium 2018, (NOIRS 2018), October 16-18, 2018, Morgantown, West Virginia. Morgantown, WV: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 2018 Oct; :135
• Contact Point Address:
  John M. Violanti, PhD, Research Professor, University at Buffalo School of Public Health & Health Professions, 270 Farber Hall EEH, Buffalo, NY 14214
• Email:
  Violanti@buffalo.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2019
• Performing Organization:
  State University of New York at Buffalo
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20150901
• Source Full Name:
  National Occupational Injury Research Symposium 2018, (NOIRS 2018), October 16-18, 2018, Morgantown, West Virginia
• End Date:
  20190831
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:df4250176e631d74810ff104dede5a6965165153b25f9ffb1ea80ac7910ddc40428f76180bdc0fbb18ccf03ba8d5335e486ef9d890dbc2632ccabd3ce5481bcf
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/181942/cdc_181942_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 37.29 KB ]