Sleep quality and mood symptoms in conscripted frontline nurse in Wuhan, China during COVID-19 outbreak: A cross-sectional study

The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of sleep problems, depression and anxiety symptoms among conscripted frontline nurses fighting coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Wuhan. This study was a cross-sectional study conducted with 100 frontline nurses. Sleep quality, depression, and anxiety symptoms were measured using the Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI), the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-Item Scale (GAD-7) and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), respectively. Mean sleep duration was 5.71 hours (SD = 1.09) and mean sleep latency was 33.49 minutes (SD = 28.87). A total of 76%, 81%, 45%, and 19% reported difficulty initiating sleep (DIS), difficulty maintaining sleep (DMS) or early morning awakening (EMA), nightmares and using hypnotics respectively. Among 100 participants in this study, 60 (60%) had poor sleep quality, 46 (46%) suffered depression symptoms and 40 (40%) reported anxiety symptoms. Sleep quality (OR = 3.16, 95% CI: 1.17–8.52) and anxiety symptoms (OR = 8.07, 95% CI: 2.92–22.33) were significantly associated with depression symptoms. Depression symptoms (OR = 7.92, 95% CI: 2.89–21.73) were related to anxiety symptoms. Similarly, depression symptoms (OR = 3.24, 95% CI: 1.19–8.79) were associated with poor sleep quality. Sleep disturbance, depression, and anxiety symptoms are very common among frontline nurses who treating patients with COVID-19 in Wuhan, China. Comprehensive measures that involve psychosocial and personal behaviors should be implemented to improve sleep quality and prevent depression and anxiety symptoms.