Sono e obesidade em mulheres trabalhadoras no sul do Brasil: comparação temporal entre dois estudos transversais (2017/2022)

Abstract

Objective: To investigate and compare the association between poor sleep quality and night work, as well as the association between sleep deprivation and obesity in working women, a comparative study between the years 2017 and 2022. Methods: This is a repeated survey comparing two independent samples of working women within the same company group, located in Southern Brazil, with a five-year interval (2017: n = 399; 2022: n = 399). Poor sleep quality was identified using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI > 5), sleep deprivation was determined by usual sleep duration (≤ 5 hours) with or without self-reported use of sleep medications in the past month, while obesity was assessed and defined through the measurement of Body Mass Index (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m²). Prevalence ratios (PR) and their 95% confidence intervals (CI 95%) were obtain using Poisson regression with robust variance. Results: The mean age of the samples was 35.7 ± 9.1 years in 2017 and 34.2 ± 9.9 years in 2022. The prevalence of poor sleep quality increased (p = 0.007) from 2017 (58.3%, 95% CI: 53.4–63.2%) to 2022 (67.7%, 95% CI: 63.0–72.3%), while the prevalence of sleep deprivation was 27.6% (95% CI: 23.2–32.0) and 24.3% (95% CI: 20.1–28.5), respectively, in 2017 and 2022, with no significant difference between the periods. The prevalence of obesity was 29.0% (95% CI: 24.5–33.5) and 30.6% (95% CI: 26.0–35.1). Night shift workers had a 30% higher likelihood of poor sleep quality in 2017 and a 25% higher likelihood in 2022, compared to day shift workers. Moreover, workers with sleep deprivation had a 70% higher likelihood of being obese compared to those without sleep deprivation. Conclusion: Our findings demonstrated a high prevalence of poor sleep quality, sleep deprivation, and obesity in working women. Promoting research on sleep-related factors in the occupational environment, especially among shift-working women, should be consider in the development of strategies for the prevention and control of health issues such as obesity.