Associations Between Occupational Exposures to Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) and Sleep Problems

Amir Hossein Khoshakhlagh; Saeid Yazdanirad; Christopher Drake; Justin Iqal; Dinh Bui

doi:10.3389/phrs.2025.1608224

Associations Between Occupational Exposures to Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) and Sleep Problems

Public Health Rev. 2025 Sep 25:46:1608224. doi: 10.3389/phrs.2025.1608224. eCollection 2025.

Authors

Amir Hossein Khoshakhlagh¹, Saeid Yazdanirad², Christopher Drake³, Justin Iqal³, Dinh Bui⁴

Affiliations

¹ Social Determinants of Health (SDH) Research Center, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran.
² Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences, Shahrekord, Iran.
³ Henry Ford Health System, Sleep Disorders and Research Center, Detroit, MI, United States.
⁴ Allergy and Lung Health Unit, School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne Australia, Parkville, VIC, Australia.

Abstract

Objectives: The purpose of this study, as a systematic review and meta-analysis, is to summarize the evidence on the effects of occupational exposure to VOCs on sleep quality.

Methods: We used five electronic bibliographic databases to identify eligible studies. Three groups of keywords were applied in the search strategy. In evaluating the quality of studies and risk of bias, we utilized the Joanna Briggs Institute tools and the Risk of Bias in Non-randomized Studies of Exposures (ROBINS-E) instruments, respectively. The pooled values were also calculated by meta-analysis.

Results: 37 articles were included in the study. There was a consistent finding that exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) adversely affected sleep in workers across various professions. The pooled value of the odds ratio of sleep problems because of exposure to VOCs was 1.60 [95% CI (1.01, 2.19)].

Conclusion: Most studies indicated that occupational exposure to VOCs can significantly influence the sleep of workers in various professions. The exposure can be associated with a variety of sleep problems.

Keywords: VOCs; meta-analysis; occupational exposure; sleep; systematic review.

Publication types

Review