Sleep disturbances and risk of sick leave: systematic review and meta-analysis

Sleep disturbances have multiple negative effects on psychological, social, and occupational aspects. The effects of sleep disturbances on the risk of taking sick leave was investigated in a meta-analysis. According to the PRISMA protocol, PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus, and ResearchGate sites were searched by the researchers until October 2018. Studies with prospective design and also the articles in which sleep disturbances are considered as exposure and sick leave is regarded as an outcome, were eligible. After screening the studies, eligible articles were finally selected and analyzed; besides, several subgroup analyses were done. Random effects method were used to analyze the results. The bias of publication and heterogeneity were reported. Eleven prospective cohort studies were systematically reviewed and meta-analyzed. Sleep disturbances increase the risk of sick leave up to 23% with confidence interval (CI) 1.17–1.30. There was a significant difference in a stratified analysis between men and women. In men, RR was 1.23; CI 1.05–1.46 and in women RR was 1.22; CI 1.09–1.37. Begg test for eleven studies in the meta-analysis showed no release bias in this test (P = 0.102) and Egger test yielded a similar result (P = 0.114). Sleep disturbances are risk factors for sick leave. Sleep problems can lead to various health problems that affect the amount of sick leave. Improving sleep quality can have a decisive impact on job performance. Sleep disturbances are risk factors for increased sick leave. Limitations should be taken into account in interpreting these findings, including the distinction between types of sick leave and possible comorbidities.