Excessive daytime sleepiness among dental students: A meta-analysis of prevalence

IntroductionExcessive daytime sleepiness is highly prevalent and variable in health students. However, a meta-analysis that synthesizes the prevalence of this symptom in dental students has yet to be reported. ObjectiveTo compute the pooled prevalence of sleepiness in dental students. MethodA systematic review and meta-analysis of studies published between 2000 and 2023 was developed in Spanish, English, and Portuguese, with the keywords sleepiness, excessive drowsiness, Epworth scale for drowsiness, and dental students in all three languages. Original articles and degree theses that reported the frequency of sleepiness with a cut-off point for the Epworth scale for sleepiness greater than ten were included. The sample sizes and the number of students positive for sleepiness were observed, and the prevalence, raw and adjusted for sample size, was calculated. ResultsSeven articles were included with participant samples between 128 and 325 students, totaling 1,546. Students were positive on the Epworth scale for sleepiness between 43 and 189, with a sum of 671. The pooled prevalence was 42.7% (95% CI 40.3-45.2). Conclusionsdrowsiness is present in four out of ten dental students. It is necessary to systematize the factors associated with drowsiness and establish a relationship with the academic performance of dental students.