Objectives. The COVID-19 pandemic has had significant physical and mental effects on healthcare workers. This study aims to evaluate the relationship between wearing face masks and headache, sleepiness, mood and anxiety symptoms in healthcare workers. Methods. A survey was administered to 365 healthcare workers working during the pandemic. The Beck depression inventory, the Beck anxiety inventory and the Epworth sleepiness scale were used to assess depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms and daytime sleepiness, respectively. Participants were also asked about new-onset headaches. Results. Almost half of the participants (47.6%) reported new-onset headaches, and 23.2% reported excessive daytime sleepiness. The frequencies of depressive and anxiety symptoms were 43.7 and 59.2%, respectively. Sleepiness scores and new-onset headache frequency were higher in women and those using filtering facepiece respirators. A statistically significant positive correlation was found between mask-wearing duration, depressive and anxiety symptom scores, and sleepiness score. Conclusions. The present study has shown that many healthcare workers wearing face masks suffered from sleepiness, headaches and psychological symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic. These findings indicate the importance of improving working conditions and planning psychological interventions for healthcare workers.
Keywords: COVID-19; face mask; headache; healthcare workers; sleepiness.