Sleep Paralysis among Professional Firefighters and a Possible Association with PTSD—Online Survey-Based Study

Paulina Wróbel-Knybel, Joanna Rog, Baland Jalal, Paweł Szewczyk and Hanna Karakuła-Juchnowicz
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Paulina Wróbel-Knybel: I Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Early Intervention, Medical University of Lublin, 20-442 Lublin, Poland
Joanna Rog: I Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Early Intervention, Medical University of Lublin, 20-442 Lublin, Poland
Baland Jalal: Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute and Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK
Paweł Szewczyk: I Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Early Intervention, Medical University of Lublin, 20-442 Lublin, Poland
Hanna Karakuła-Juchnowicz: I Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Early Intervention, Medical University of Lublin, 20-442 Lublin, Poland

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 18, 1-14

Abstract: The prevalence of sleep paralysis (SP) is estimated at approximately 7.6% of the world’s general population. One of the strongest factors in the onset of SP is PTSD, which is often found among professional firefighters. Our study aimed to assess in the professional firefighter population ( n = 831) (1) the prevalence of SP, (2) the relationship between SP and PTSD and (3) the relationship between SP and other factors: the severity of the stress felt, individual tendency to feel anxious and worried and lifestyle variables. The incidence of SP in the study group was 8.7%. The high probability of PTSD was found in 15.04% of subjects and its presence was associated with 1.86 times the odds of developing SP [OR = 1.86 (95% CI: 1.04–3.33); p = 0.04]. Officers who experienced at least 1 SP during their lifetime had significantly higher results in the scales: PCL-5, STAI-T, PSWQ. The number of SP episodes was positively correlated with the severity of symptoms measured by the PCL-5, PSS-10, STAI and PSWQ questionnaires. Further research is needed to assess the importance of SP among the firefighter population in the context of mental and somatic health and to specify methods of preventing SP episodes.

Keywords: sleep disorders; sleep paralysis; parasomnias; anxiety; PTSD; firefighters; stress; anxiety disorder (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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