Occurrence of obstructive sleep apnea in a group of shift worked police officers

Shift work is an important source of health disturbances. Night work has a negative influence on some spheres: biological, working, social, and medical. Disturbances of sleeping, one group of manifestations of medical problems, can be considered as a cause of health deterioration. This study focuses on the occurrence of breathing disturbances during sleep in shift workers. Twenty one shift worked police officers (40-60 years old) were compared with an age-matched control group operating in the some environment. All subjects underwent overnight polysomnography. The polysomnographic investigation by shift workers was conducted after a day shift and normal night sleep, after an adaptational night in the sleep laboratory. Obstructive sleep apnea was found in 8 shift workers (38%) with AHI of 5.72-45.45 and in 8 control volunteers (38% of the studied group) with AHI of 5.00-25.24. All breathing parameters, as measured by polysomnography, did not differ between the two groups. Our results do not confirm the hypothesis that chronic irregular work hours promote the occurrence of obstructive sleep apnea in subjects aged 40-60 years.