Factors Affecting Sleep Quality of Firefighters

Oh, Jinuk; Ko, Miae; Song, Hoo Rim; Hong, Min Ha; Kim, Hyun Soo; Kim, Woo Jung

Abstract

OBJECTIVES
Firefighters frequently experience traumatic events, high-tension situations and shift work. Therefore, the prevalence of insomnia of firefighters is higher than one of general population. Not only does the quality of sleep affect the satisfaction of personal life, but it also influences their performance for the public's safety. We investigated which factors affect the quality of sleep of firefighters.
METHODS
After personally delivering 120 questionnaires to 3 fire stations, the survey was conducted when the consents were signed. It inquired about alcohol use, smoking, shift work, sleep quality, depression, anxiety, and experience of traumatic events. We then divided the firefighting officers in two groups according to the quality of sleep and compared the variables examined to conduct the logistic regression analyses according to the results.
RESULTS
The poor sleeper group reported a higher level of current alcohol consumption, depression, anxiety and experience of traumatic events. Logistic regression analyses showed that the current alcohol intake (Crude odds ratio=3.707, 95% confidence interval=1.288-10.672, p=0.015 ; Adjusted odds ratio=3.288, 95% confidence interval=1.011-10.694, p=0.048) has a significant effect on sleep quality.
CONCLUSIONS
Current alcohol consumption, depression, anxiety and experience of traumatic events were respectively associated with sleep quality of firefighters. When all significant factors considered, the current alcohol use was the only statistically significant. To improve the quality of sleep for firefighters, it will be necessary to evaluate alcohol intake, educate the poor sleep quality caused by alcohol, and provide specific interventions to reduce consumption.