Insomnia is associated with road accidents. Further evidence from a study on truck drivers.

Garbarino, Sergio; Magnavita, Nicola; Guglielmi, Ottavia; Maestri, Michelangelo; Dini, Guglielmo; Bersi, Francesca Maria; Toletone, Alessandra; Chiorri, Carlo; Durando, Paolo · 2017 · Crossref

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0187256

archive: archived pipeline: cataloged verified

Get this paper ↗ (DOI — opens at the source; we link to it, we don't host it)

Summary

This study investigates the association between insomnia and road accidents among occupational truck drivers, a population at high risk for traffic incidents due to long driving hours and strict schedules. While sleep-related issues like obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) are known risk factors, prior research had rarely examined the specific role of insomnia in this demographic. The authors aimed to determine the prevalence of insomnia and its independent impact on motor vehicle accidents (MVAs) and near-miss accidents (NMAs), controlling for potential confounders such as OSA, short sleep duration, and concurrent diseases. The research utilized a cross-sectional survey design involving 949 male truck drivers recruited from major Italian trucking hubs between 2014 and 2015. Participants underwent medical examinations, semi-structured interviews, and standardized questionnaires. Insomnia was diagnosed based on DSM-5 and ICSD-3 criteria, requiring difficulty initiating or maintaining sleep at least three times per week for over a month, accompanied by daytime impairment. Data collection also included assessments of OSA (via the Berlin questionnaire), EDS (via the Epworth Sleepiness Scale), sleep duration, and history of MVAs in the previous three years and NMAs in the previous six months. Statistical analyses employed logistic regression to calculate odds ratios, adjusting for variables such as age, smoking, coffee consumption, and comorbidities. The results indicated that insomnia affected 27.5% of the sample. Insomniac drivers reported significantly higher rates of both MVAs (48.3% vs. 29.7%) and NMAs (18.4% vs. 5.7%) compared to non-insomniac drivers. Multivariate analysis confirmed that insomnia remained a significant independent risk factor even after correcting for OSA, EDS, short sleep duration, and other concurrent diseases. Specifically, insomniac truck drivers had an almost two-fold increased risk of MVAs (OR: 1.82, 95% CI: 1.33–2.49) and a more than three-fold increased risk of NMAs (OR: 3.35, 95% CI: 2.06–5.45). The study also noted that insomniac drivers had higher prevalences of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, depression, and respiratory disorders, though these did not negate the association between insomnia and accidents. The study concludes that insomnia is an independent risk factor for road accidents among truck drivers, distinct from other sleep disorders. Given the high prevalence of insomnia in this occupational group and its strong association with accident risk, the authors strongly advise screening commercial drivers for signs and symptoms of insomnia. This recommendation aims to improve both driver health and overall road safety. The findings highlight the need for targeted interventions to address sleep disturbances in high-risk occupational populations, as individuals may not accurately assess their own vulnerability to performance impairment caused by sleep loss.

Provenance

The full processing record for this entry. Every stage of this paper's journey through the pipeline is logged — what ran, with which tool and model, how many attempts it took, and when it last completed.

Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-26; verification: verified.

Topics

Ranked by relevance to this paper. Hover a topic for its definition.

• sleep deprivation
• truck driver fatigue
• shift work driving
• drowsiness

Information type

What kind of knowledge this paper contributes, grouped by family — independent of topic (what it is about) and method (how it was studied).

• Empirical Findings: physiological data