Title:Anxiety, Insomnia and Body Mass Index Scores in Italian Nurses Engaged in the Care of COVID-19 Patients
Volume: 21
Issue: 9
Author(s): Elsa Vitale*, Rocco Mea, Francesca Di Dio, Anna Canonico and Vito Galatola
Affiliation:
- Centre of Mental Health, Modugno, Local Health Company Bari,Italy
Keywords:
Anxiety disorder, biological sex, body mass index, COVID-19 infection, insomnia disorder, nursing.
Abstract:
Background: A new Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2)
(COVID-19) infection was reported in Wuhan, China, becoming a global health emergency. Literature
shows how nursing work is particularly stressful and how this condition is closely connected
to the development of anxiety disorders, sleep quality and can also influence eating behavior with
consequent variations in BMI values.
Objective: The study aims to investigate and correlate the levels of anxiety, insomnia and Body
Mass Index among nurses directly involved in the care of patients in the intensive care units with
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) infection.
Method: An observatory study was conducted assessing and correlating the anxiety and insomnia
levels and BMI values of each nurse before (until December 2019) and during (until May 2020) the
pandemic.
Results: In total, 291 Italian nurses joined the study. There are no statistically significant differences
between female nurses and male nurses for both groups of participants with or without anxiety
(p=0.655). Female nurses with mild, moderate and severe insomnia levels were statistically
more than male nurses (p=0.025). For the same BMI differences, the levels of anxiety and insomnia
were statistically significant between them (p<0.001).
Conclusion: Nurses engaged in the treatment of the most serious patients with Covid-19 are subjected
to very high levels of stress due to the nature of the nursing job, shifting, poor rest, anxiety
due to health emergency period and weight gain.
