Sleep quality and perceived stress in relation to quality of life among resident doctors

Medical professionals frequently face high levels of stress that can lead to sleep disorders and a low quality of life. This study aims to investigate the relationship between perceived stress, sleep quality and quality of life in resident physicians from Romania and Germany. This is a cross-sectional observational study with 170 resident physicians from surgical and nonsurgical specialties from Romania and Germany as participants, who were assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index scale, the Stress Perception Scale, and the World Health Organization Quality of Life Scale – brief version. The results showed that there were no statistically significant differences between surgical and nonsurgical specialties in terms of stress, sleep quality, and quality of life. It was shown that there were negative correlations between sleep quality and all domains of quality of life, as well as a positive correlation between perceived stress and poor sleep quality (r=0.35; p<0.001). Stress was also negatively correlated with all domains of quality of life, especially with mental health (r=-0.50; p<0.001). In conclusion, the study highlighted statistically significant correlations between stress levels, sleep quality and quality of life among resident physicians.