Research
Mixed
Screening positive for sleep disorders (specifically obstructive sleep apnea, insomnia, or shift work disorder) is significantly associated with increased risks of adverse health outcomes (depression, cardiovascular disease, diabetes) and safety/performance failures (administrative errors, falling asleep while driving, fatigue-related safety violations) in police officers.
Police departments should implement routine, non-punitive sleep disorder screening for all officers. Given the high prevalence of undiagnosed OSA and insomnia, treating these conditions is a critical safety intervention that reduces administrative errors, safety violations, and health risks like cardiovascular disease and depression.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Respondents who screened positive for obstructive sleep apnea or any sleep disorder had an increased prevalence of reported physical and mental health conditions, including diabetes, depression, and cardiovascular disease... those respondents who screened positive for a sleep disorder vs those who did not had a higher rate of reporting that they had made a serious administrative error (17.9% vs 12.7%; adjusted odds ratio [OR], 1.43 [95% CI, 1.23-1.67]); of falling asleep while driving (14.4% vs 9.2%; adjusted OR, 1.51 [95% CI, 1.20-1.90]); and of making an error or safety violation attributed to fatigue (23.7% vs 15.5%; adjusted OR, 1.63 [95% CI, 1.43-1.85])
Why this rating
Large prospective cohort (n=4957, up to 2 years follow-up) with adjusted odds ratios, though outcomes are self-reported.
Source
Sleep Disorders, Health, and Safety in Police Officers
Shantha M. W. Rajaratnam et al. · JAMA · 2011
DOI 10.1001/jama.2011.1851
cohort · n=4957Cited 405×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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