Association of Occupational Distress and Low Sleep Quality with Syncope, Presyncope, and Falls in Workers

Abstract

Syncope and presyncope episodes that occur during work could affect one’s safety and impair occupational performance. Few data are available regarding the prevalence of these events among workers. The possible role of sleep quality, mental stress, and metabolic disorders in promoting syncope, presyncope, and falls in workers is unknown. In the present study, 741 workers (male 35.4%; mean age 47 ± 11 years), employed at different companies, underwent clinical evaluation and blood tests, and completed questionnaires to assess sleep quality, occupational distress, and mental disorders. The occurrence of syncope, presyncope, and unexplained falls during working life was assessed via an ad hoc interview. The prevalence of syncope, presyncope, and falls of unknown origin was 13.9%, 27.0%, and 10.3%, respectively. The occurrence of syncope was associated with an increased risk of occupational distress (adjusted odds ratio aOR: 1.62, confidence intervals at 95%: 1.05–2.52), low sleep quality (aOR: 1.79 CI 95%: 1.16–2.77), and poor mental health (aOR: 2.43 CI 95%: 1.52–3.87). Presyncope was strongly associated with occupational distress (aOR: 1.77 CI 95%: 1.25–2.49), low sleep quality (aOR: 2.95 CI 95%: 2.08–4.18), and poor mental health (aOR: 2.61 CI 95%: 1.78–3.84), while no significant relationship was found between syncope or presyncope and metabolic syndrome. These results suggest that occupational health promotion interventions aimed at improving sleep quality, reducing stressors, and increasing worker resilience might reduce syncope and presyncope events in the working population.

Psychological Aspects of Syncopes and Possible Association with Recurrency—The Role of Implantable Loop Recorders

“…In our cohort, personality traits, apart from neuroticism, were not associated with the recurrence of syncope or the type of underlying origin, which may also have been due to the small number of patients included. These syncopes might be possibly addressed by psychological interventions, so that a thorough identification of possible stressors and risk factors is mandatory in the assessment of syncopes, in line with the results by Magnavita et al described in the introduction [ 14 ].…”

“…A similar observation was reported by Magnavita et al, who showed that the risk for syncope was higher in patients with occupational distress, a low sleep quality and poor mental health. The authors reasoned that health promotion interventions could reduce syncopes via reducing sleep quality and reducing (work-associated) stressors [ 14 ].…”

Workplace Health Promotion Embedded in Medical Surveillance: The Italian Way to Total Worker Health Program

“…The results of each survey were reported to the companies, the corporate prevention service, and the workers’ safety representatives in order to contribute to the growth of the work culture. Besides offering workers advice and providing companies with useful indications, WHPEMS activities have enabled researchers to produce some scientific publications [ 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 ]. Furthermore, by annually reiterating surveys on the same cohorts of workers, it has been possible to carry out longitudinal studies to clarify the causal link between exposure to risk and damage to health [ 64 , 65 ].…”

Risk Perception Related to COVID-19 and Future Affective Responses Among Healthcare Workers in Switzerland: A Mixed-Methods Longitudinal Study

“…This unprecedented situation placed healthcare workers (HCWs) at high risk to experience affective responses [2,3]. In fact, previous findings indicate that HCWs commonly experienced depression, anxiety, burnout (i.e., response to chronic stress at workplace, including emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and capacities reduction) [4] and secondary traumatic stress symptoms (i.e., STS; compassion fatigue and stress resulting from helping others) [5], during the COVID-19 outbreak [6][7][8][9][10][11][12].…”