Effect of Chronotype and Social Jetlag on Depression in Shift Nurses

Objective To investigate the status quo of chronotype, social jetlag and depression in shift nurses, and to explore the relationship between chronotype, social jetlag and depressive symptoms. Methods From October to November 2024, a total of 301 shift nurses from a tertiary A general hospital in Sichuan, China were selected as the investigation objects by purposeful sampling method, and the investigation was conducted using the Morning and Evening Type Scale 5 (MEQ-5), the Munich Chronotype Questionnaire (MCTQ), and the Patient Health Questionaire-9 (PHQ-9). The influencing factors of depression were analyzed by multiple linear regression. Results The detection rate of depression in shift nurses was 20.1%, the proportion of morning type, middle type and night type was 16.7%, 76.4% and 6.9%, respectively, and the proportion of high social jetlag was 49.7%. Factors such as age, alcohol consumption, exercise persistence, chronic disease, health status, the chronotype is middle type and night type can pose danger to depression nurses ( P  < 0.05). Conclusions The chronotype of middle type and night type is the risk factor of depressive symptoms for shift nurses. It is suggested that nursing managers should take chronotype as the theoretical basis when formulating the intervention plan for depression in shift nurses, which can reduce the risk of depressive symptoms.