Association between long working hours and mental health among nurses in China under COVID-19 pandemic: based on a large cross-sectional study

Hongwei Che, Huiying Wu, Yu Qiao, Bonan Luan, Qingyun Zhao, Hongyan Wang

Nurses were more likely to experience mental disorders due to long working hours and irregular schedules. However, studies addressing this issue are scarce; therefore, we aimed to investigate the association between long working hours and mental health in Chinese nurses during the coronavirus disease pandemic. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 2,811 nurses at a tertiary hospital in China from March to April 2022. We collected data on demographic, psychological characteristics, dietary habits, life, and work-related factors using a self-reported questionnaire and measured mental health using Patient Health Questionnaire-9 and General Anxiety Disorder-7. Binary logistic regression to determine adjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals. The effective response rates were 81.48%, 7.80% (219), and 6.70% (189) of the respondents who reported depression and anxiety, respectively. We categorized the weekly working hours by quartiles. Compared with the lowest quartile, the odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals across the quartiles for depression after adjustment were 0.98 (0.69, 1.40), 10.58 (2.78, 40.32), and 1.79 (0.81, 3.97) respectively, the P for trend was 0.002. The odds ratios across the quartiles for anxiety after adjustment were 0.87 (0.59, 1.30), 8.69 (2.13, 35.46), and 2.67 (1.26, 5.62), respectively, and the P for trend was 0.008. This study demonstrated that extended working hours increased the risk of mental disorders among nurses during the coronavirus disease pandemic, particularly in those who worked more than 60 h per week. These findings enrich the literature on mental disorders and demonstrate a critical need for additional studies investigating intervention strategies.