Dados do Trabalho

Título

Sleep Quality and Duration in Women in the Climacteric and Their Association with Body Fat: A Clinical Trial Study

Introdução

The climacteric can negatively impact women's sleep quality. This phase of life may be more challenging for women working fixed night shifts, as they already experience poorer sleep quality and greater weight gain compared to workers on day shifts.

Objetivo

Evaluate the sleep duration and the correlation between sleep quality and body fat in women in the climacteric, according to work shift (morning, afternoon, or night).

Métodos

This is a phase II, randomized, double-blind, and controlled clinical trial, and was composed of nurses and nursing technicians who work in three different shifts: morning (07:00-13:00 - n=17), afternoon (13:00-19:00 - n=15) and evening (19:00-07:00 - n=15). In this study, only data extracted from the baseline were used. Sleep characteristics were assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), where a score from 0 to 4 points indicates good sleep quality, while a score above 5 points indicates poor sleep quality. Body composition was assessed through bioimpedance testing, following all protocols for its use. To analyze the correlations between body composition and sleep quality, Pearson's linear correlation coefficient was used, and analysis of variance was employed to examine the variables across different work shifts.

Resultados

The mean sleep duration on workdays was significantly longer for women working morning (6h19m) and afternoon (7h55m) shifts compared to those working night (3h43m) shifts (p < 0.001). Sleep quality for night shift workers on workdays did not differ when compared to morning and afternoon shift. However, all workers exhibited poor sleep quality regardless of their shift. Night shift workers had an average PSQI score of 8.93 on workdays, while morning and afternoon workers scored 6.76 and 7.33, respectively. The body fat percentage for morning, afternoon, and night shift workers was 41.3%, 43.5%, and 38.5%, respectively, which represents a high body fat percentage in all participants. A correlation between sleep quality and body fat percentage was identified only among night shift workers (p = 0.036), meaning that higher body fat was associated with poorer sleep quality.

Conclusões

The results support previous findings, demonstrating that night shift work is associated with shorter sleep duration and that a high body fat percentage impairs sleep quality in women in the climacteric.

Palavras -chave

Shift Work Schedule, Sleep Duration, Sleep Quality, Body Fat.