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Objectives This study aimed to examine the contribution of shift work, work time control (WTC) and informal caregiving, separately and in combination, to sleep disturbances in ageing employees.
Methods Survey data were obtained from two prospective cohort studies with repeated measurements of working conditions, informal caregiving, and sleep disturbances. We used fixed-effect conditional logistic regression analysis to examine whether within-individual changes in shift work, WTC and informal caregiving were associated with changes in sleep. Secondary analyses included between-individuals comparison using standard logistic regression models. Results from the two cohorts were pooled using meta-analysis.
Results Low WTC and informal caregiving were associated with sleep disturbances in within-individual analyses [odds ratios (OR) ranging between 1.13 (95% confidence interval 1.01-1.27) and 1.48 (95% CI 1.29-1.68)] and in between-individuals analyses [OR 1.14 (95% CI 1.03-1.26) to 1.33 (1.19-1.49)]. Shift work alone was not associated with sleep disturbances, but accumulated exposure to shift work, low WTC and informal caregiving was associated with higher risk of sleep disturbances (OR range 1.21-1.76). For some of the sleep outcomes, informal caregiving was related to a higher risk of sleep disturbances when WTC was low and a lower risk when WTC was high.
Conclusions Informal caregiving and low WTC are associated with risk of sleep disturbances among ageing employees. The findings also suggest that low WTC in combination with informal caregiving may increase the risk of sleep disturbances whereas high WTC may alleviate the adverse impact of informal caregiving on sleep.
Key terms insomnia; municipal employe; older employee; shift worker; working hour.
Sleep disturbances are common among working populations (1), and ageing is associated with many negative changes in sleep, such as more frequent arousals, shorter sleep duration and decreased slow-wave sleep (2, 3). Sleep disturbances increase the risk of various health problems, including the metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, and premature mortality (4-6). Among the employed, sleep disturbances and insufficient sleep have also been associated with impaired work performance, occupational injuries, absenteeism, work disability, and increased healthcare costs (6-8). The high prevalence of sleep disturbances and the related burden on the individual, the workplace, and the healthcare system underlines the need to find new targets for prevention.
Time-related factors that may make life irregular or hectic have gained increasing attention in studies...