Stressful life events and poor sleep quality: a cross-sectional survey in the Chinese governmental employees

Abstract

Evidence has shown that stressful life events are associated with sleep quality, yet studies on employees are scarce. In the present study, we explored the association between stressful life events and sleep quality in Chinese governmental employees. The cross-sectional data on 10,994 Chinese governmental employees aged 20-60 years were derived from a cohort study on chronic diseases of governmental employees in Hunan Province, China. Logistic regression models were used to calculate the adjusted odds ratio (OR) and the 95% confidence interval (CI). Of the participants, 3517 (32.0%) reported poor sleep quality in the past month. Participants who experienced more than two life events in the past year were associated with 3 times (OR: 3.681, 95%CI:3.287-4.123) greater likelihood of poor sleep quality. Negative life events, but not positive life events, were significantly associated with poor sleep quality. Regarding the types of events, economic-related life events were associated with poor sleep quality only in employees aged 20-35 years. Regarding the specific life events, work stress, job dissatisfaction, pregnancy or wife pregnancy,quality in Chinese governmental employees. discord with spouse's parents, separation from spouse due to work, bad relationship between spouse, unsatisfied sex life, misunderstood, blamed, false accusation or argument, and lifestyle changes were significantly associated with poor sleep quality. When stratified by sex, age and occupational position, the association of specific events and sleep quality were different. The present study showed that cumulative life events, negative life events and several specific events were significantly associated with poor sleep quality on Chinese governmental employees.

Keywords: Governmental employees; Sleep quality; Stressful life events.