SLEEP DISORDERS AND PSYCHIATRIC AND FUNCTIONAL REPERCUSSIONS IN HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS: AN INTEGRATIVE REVIEW

Resumo

Introduction: Sleep deprivation is a frequent condition among healthcare professionals, especially due to prolonged working hours, shift work, and high occupational workload, and is associated with negative repercussions on mental health and overall functioning. Objective: To analyze, through an integrative review, the association betw een sleep deprivation and psychiatric and functional outcomes among healthcare professionals. Methods: This integrative literature review was conducted through searches in the PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Scielo databases, including observational st udies, systematic reviews, and meta -analyses investigating the relationships addressed in this study. Studies evaluating outcomes such as insomnia, depression, anxiety, burnout, and other occupational stressors were included, with qualitative analysis of t he findings. Results: The analyzed studies demonstrated a high prevalence of insomnia among healthcare professionals, ranging from approximately 36.36% to 43.5%, especially in contexts involving prolonged working hours and night work. Shift work, particula rly night shifts, was associated with poorer sleep quality and a higher occurrence of depressive symptoms, with a 49% increased risk of depression among professionals exposed to night shifts (OR=1.49; 95%CI 1.26 - 1.76), in addition to prevalence rates of an xiety and depression of 58.82% and 62.08%, respectively, among nurses working in shifts. During the COVID-19 pandemic, sleep disturbances acted as partial mediators between occupational stressors and depressive symptoms among healthcare professionals, accounting for approximately 17% of this association. In post- pandemic settings, sleep disorders remained frequent, with 22.7% of professionals presenting moderate insomnia, in addition to prevalence rates of anxiety and depression of 33% and 28.4%, respectively. Among medical students and medical residents, high prevalence rates of depression (43%), anxiety (44%), and sleep disorders (48%) were observed. Observational studies also demonstrated that professionals subjected to on-call shifts had a mean sleep duration of 5.43±1.38 hours, with 82.3% presenting sleep deprivation (<7h/night) and 16.4% excessive daytime sleepiness. In Brazil, there is a scarcity of studies with robust longitudinal designs and direct focus on psychiatric outcomes related to sleep deprivation, with predominance of cross-sectional or indirect evidence. Conclusion: Sleep deprivation is strongly associated with psychiatric morbidity among healthcare professionals, especially anxiety, depression, and burnout. The findings suggest an importa nt influence of occupational factors and highlight the need for longitudinal studies and institutional strategies aimed at promoting sleep and mental health in this population.