DROWSINESS, SLEEP QUALITY AND RISK OF SLEEP APNEA IN MEDICINE STUDENTS OF A SANTA CATARINA UNIVERSITY
Sleep disorders are prevalent in medical students. Students with reduced sleep time and higher daytime sleepiness levels have presented lower academic performance.
To evaluate the quality and quantity of sleep of medical students at a university in Santa Catarina, observing whether this group has risk factors for sleep apnea.
A total of 473 students from the first to sixth grades at a university in Santa Catarina participated in the study. The Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) was used to measure daytime sleepiness, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) to assess sleep quality, and the Berlin Questionnaire (BQ) to measure the risk of Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA).
The sample represented 76% of the students. Through the PSQI, an average of 6.3 hours ± 1.05 hours per night was verified. Only 26.6% of the students showed a good sleep quality, and 58.6% obtained a score for poor sleep quality, and 14.8% achieved a score indicative of a possible sleep disorder.
According to the ESS, 40.8% had a score for high probability of Excessive Daytime Sleepiness (EDS) and 9.1% of the students had a score compatible with severe EDS.
The percentage of students with high probability for AOS was 7% by BQ.
Individuals with high values in the PSQI also had a high SES score (p<0.001). This data infers that poor sleep quality is closely related to EDS (p<0.001). A low PSQI score was also associated with a low probability of AOS according to the BQ (p=0.030).
The present study showed a high prevalence of insufficient sleep time, daytime sleepiness and low subjective sleep quality in medical students. These data are supported by previous studies, including meta-analysis, which identified worsening of academic performance and impairment of students' mental health.
Sleep, sleep quality, medical students