Post-COVID Symptoms in Occupational Cohorts: Effects on Health and Work Ability.

Post-acute COVID-19 syndrome is frequently observed in workers and has a substantial impact on work ability. We conducted a health promotion program to identify cases of post-COVID syndrome, analyze the distribution of symptoms and their association with work ability. Of the 1422 workers who underwent routine medical examination in 2021, 1378 agreed to participate. Among the latter, 164 had contracted SARS-CoV-2 and 115 (70% of those who were infected) had persistent symptoms. A cluster analysis showed that most of the post-COVID syndrome cases were characterized by sensory disturbances (anosmia and dysgeusia) and fatigue (weakness, fatigability, tiredness). In one-fifth of these cases, additional symptoms included dyspnea, tachycardia, headache, sleep disturbances, anxiety, and muscle aches. Workers with post-COVID were found to have poorer quality sleep, increased fatigue, anxiety, depression, and decreased work ability compared with workers whose symptoms had rapidly disappeared. It is important for the occupational physician to diagnose post-COVID syndrome in the workplace since this condition may require a temporary reduction in work tasks and supportive treatment.

Sleep in Residents: A Comparison between Anesthesiology and Occupational Medicine Interns.

Sleep deprivation is a significant risk to the health and judgment of physicians. We wanted to investigate whether anesthesiology residents (ARs) who work only one night shift per week have different physical and mental health from occupational medicine residents (OMRs) who do not work at night. A total of 21 ARs and 16 OMRs attending a university general hospital were asked to wear an actigraph to record sleep duration, heart rate and step count and to complete a questionnaire for the assessment of sleep quality, sleepiness, fatigue, occupational stress, anxiety, depression and happiness. ARs had shorter sleep duration than OMRs; on average, they slept 1 h and 20 min less (p < 0.001). ARs also had greater daytime sleepiness, a higher heart rate and lower happiness than OMRs. These results should be interpreted with caution given the cross-sectional nature of the study and the small sample size, but they are an incentive to promote sleep hygiene among residents.