Anxiety, Insomnia and Body Mass Index Scores in Italian Nurses Engaged in the Care of COVID-19 Patients

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.

Cite this article as:

Vitale Elsa*, Mea Rocco , Di Dio Francesca , Canonico Anna and Galatola Vito , Anxiety, Insomnia and Body Mass Index Scores in Italian Nurses Engaged in the Care of COVID-19 Patients, Endocrine, Metabolic & Immune Disorders - Drug Targets 2021; 21 (9) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/1871530320666201016150033