Association between sleep disorders and physical activity in middle-aged Americans: a cross-sectional study from NHANES.

BACKGROUND: Among the numerous studies on physical activity and sleep disorders, few have focused on physical activity and sleep disorders in middle-aged people who are particularly stressed. A restricted cubic web (RCS) technique was applied to determine whether physical activity and the self-rated prevalence of sleep disorders exhibit a dose-response relationship in middle-aged adults. METHODS: This study analyzed 8880 middle-aged adults aged 40-65 years who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2007-2018. Logistic regression was performed to estimate the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) between physical activity and sleep disorders in middle-aged adults. Thereafter, the dose-response connection was examined using RCS. RESULTS: After adjusting for potential confounders, subjects with MET values in the first quartile (Q1) had odds ratios (OR) for sleep disturbance of 0.851 (95% CI = 0.745-0.973), 0.800 (95% CI = 0.698-0.917), and 0.780 (95% CI = 0.680-0.895) compared to subjects with MET values in the second, third, and fourth quartiles respectively. RCS regression showed a non-linear association between physical activity and sleep disorders in middle-aged adults (non-linearity P = 0.0382). Furthermore, the prevalence of sleep disorders in middle-aged adults decreased with increasing physical activity, reaching a minimum when weekly physical activity was around 166.27MET*h (OR = 0.885, 95% CI = 0.799-0.981). CONCLUSION: Our research demonstrates that physical activity was negatively associated with sleep disorders.

Association of serum uric acid with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in obstructive sleep apnea.

The study investigated the association between Serum Uric Acid (SUA) levels and all-cause as well as cardiovascular mortality in patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA). This prospective cohort study enrolled participants with OSA from four cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) conducted between 2005 and 2008, and 2015-2018. A weighted Cox proportional hazards model was used to assess adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs) and their corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI) for all-cause and cardiovascular mortality. Additionally, multivariable logistic regression and restricted cubic splines (RCS) models were employed to examine nonlinear relationships between SUA and all-cause and cardiovascular mortality. Among the 5,584 OSA participants included in the study, covering the four NHANES cycles and with a median follow-up of 4.333 years, a total of 537 deaths were observed, including 108 deaths attributed to cardiovascular disease. Comparing the fourth quartile (Q4) of uric acid levels, both the fifth quartile (Q5) (aHRs = 1.51, 95% CI [1.08, 2.12]) and the second quartile (Q2) (aHRs = 1.53, 95% CI [1.04, 2.25]) of uric acid levels were independently associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality. Furthermore, comparing the fourth quartile (Q4) of uric acid levels, the second quartile (Q2) (aHRs = 2.40, 95% CI [1.08, 5.35]) of uric acid levels were independently associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular mortality. The RCS model demonstrated a U-shaped pattern in the association between SUA and all-cause mortality in OSA, with an inflection point observed at 5.83 mg/dl. The findings of this study suggest a U-shaped association between serum SUA levels and all-cause mortality and nonlinearity association between serum SUA levels and all-cause mortality. Further studies are warranted to determine the causal relationship between SUA levels and all-cause and cardiovascular mortality.

Psychological Intervention on Reducing Stress of Nurses Caring for Terminally Ill Cancer Patients: A Quasi-Experimental Study.

Objective: The aim of the study was to explore the effect and feasibility of psychological intervention on reducing stress in nurses caring for terminally ill patients in the Department of Oncology. Methods: This quasi-experimental study enrolled oncology nurses at Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, affiliated to Zhejiang University School of Medicine, between April 2021 and February 2022. Interventions included Soul Moisturizing Hall, Balint group, one-on-one interviews, and routine debriefing sessions. Psychological interventions for the nurses were carried out by a team of psychiatrists and senior clinical nurse specialists. The Work Stressors Questionnaire of Nurses in the Department of Oncology (WSQNDO) was used to measure the stress in nurses before and after intervention. Results: A total of 27 female nurses were enrolled, with the majority of them aged <30 years. Following intervention, the scores in each of the WSQNDO dimensions were all significantly lower (P < .001) than prior to intervention (social factors and career prospect: 15.18 ± 3.67 vs. 11.11 ± 2.42; working environment and working nature: 20.22 ± 5.03 vs. 17.29 ± 4.87; professional skills: 19.11 ± 3.93 vs. 16.51 ± 3.27; stress from the patient and their family: 11.85 ± 3.07 vs. 10.37 ± 2.45; interpersonal relationship: 9.77 ± 2.54 vs. 8.62 ± 1.62; the problem of oncology specialist nursing: 41.03 ± 8.46 vs. 38.51 ± 6.30). Moreover, the nurses reported alleviation of negative emotions after the psychological intervention. Conclusion: Psychological interventions can reduce the stress experienced by nurses while caring for terminally ill cancer patients.