AB 80. Sleep characteristics and health problems in railway conductors in Greece
Background: The objective of the study was to evaluate sleep characteristics of railway conductors in Greece and to explore their correlations with health problems.
Patients and methods: In the first phase of the study a questionnaire was distributed to 572 railway conductors regarding their anthropometrics and their medical history. In addition, they were asked to fill in the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS). Response rate was 71.85% (411 questionnaires were returned). In the second phase, 137 workers were randomly contacted, out of them 32 of them underwent a medical examination (23.36%). Out of them, 20 patients were examined by sleep study, in the regional sleep laboratory of “G. Papanikolaou” General Hospital.
Results: The majority were male (97.4%), overweight (BMI 28.3±3.6 kg/m2), with mean age 50.9±3.4 years. Smoking was reported by 48.4%. Shift working was reported by 85.8%, out of them, 90.8% worked in an irregular schedule. The most common comorbidities were: arterial hypertension (31.6%), elevated triglycerides levels (30.1%) and gastroesophageal reflux disease (29.4%). Snoring was reported by 75.1%, sleep apneas by 24%, difficulty in sleeping by 47.4%, reduced sleep duration by 63.1%, and poor sleep quality during the last month by 57.3%. Daytime sleepiness was not observed (mean ESS was 6.3±4.2). Apnea/Hypopnea Index (AHI) ranged significantly (mean 8.9±10.9) and was strongly associated with BMI.
Conclusions: Railway conductors in Greece are middle-aged and overweight. In a substantial percentage, arterial hypertension, hypertriglyceridemia and gastroesophageal reflux disease were observed. Intense snoring, and apneas during sleep were observed, however, no daytime sleepiness was observed. A strong association was observed between AHI and BMI.
