# Irritable bowel syndrome among Norwegian nurses – associations with insomnia, excessive sleepiness, shift work disorder and shift work schedule

## TL;DR

This study finds that sleep issues like insomnia and shift work disorder are linked to higher rates of irritable bowel syndrome among Norwegian nurses.

## Contribution

The study identifies specific sleep-related factors associated with irritable bowel syndrome in a working population of nurses.

## Key findings

- 6.3% of nurses reported irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
- IBS was more common among nurses with insomnia, excessive sleepiness, and shift work disorder.
- Work schedule (day vs. night) was not significantly associated with IBS.

## Abstract

The present study aims to investigate the prevalence of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) among nurses, and its associations with sleep- and sleepiness problems and shift work, as both shift work and poor sleep have been linked to high prevalence of gastrointestinal symptoms and IBS.

The data stem from 1335 Norwegian experienced nurses participating in the cohort “SUrvey of Shift work, Sleep and Health” (SUSSH). Results are based on cross-sectional data collected in the 10th wave (2018) of SUSSH. The nurses responded to a questionnaire that assessed symptoms of IBS according to the Rome IV diagnostic criteria, symptoms of insomnia measured with the Bergen Insomnia Scale (BIS), excessive sleepiness measured with the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), shift work disorder (SWD) and shift work schedule such as day vs. night work, number of nights and number of quick returns (less than 11 h between two shifts) worked the last year. Chi-square tests were used to compare categorical variables and crude and adjusted (for sex and age) logistic regression analyses were conducted with IBS as dependent variable.

A total of 6.3% of the nurses reported IBS, 30.9% insomnia, 25.6% excessive sleepiness and 33.6% shift work disorder, respectively. In total 59.8% were working daytime schedules, while 40.2% had a work schedule that included night work. IBS was more prevalent among nurses with insomnia (no/yes) (4.8% vs. 9.7%, p<.001), excessive sleepiness (no/yes) (4.9% vs. 10.7%, p<.001), and shift work disorder (no/yes) (5.0% vs. 9.1%, p=.004), but not among nurses working night shifts (day work/night work) (5.9% vs. 7.2%, p=.351). The adjusted logistic regression analyses showed that insomnia (aOR 2.14, 95% CI 1.36–3.67), excessive sleepiness (aOR 2.36, 95% CI 1.48–3.75) and shift work disorder (aOR 1.95, 95% CI 1.24–3.06) remained significantly associated with IBS.

In this population of experienced nurses, the prevalence of IBS was quite low. However, IBS was more prevalent among nurses having sleep problems like insomnia, excessive sleepiness and shift work disorder, whereas work schedule was unrelated to IBS.

Not applicable.