Insomnia and its correlates in a representative sample of the Greek population

BMC Public Health

Research Article

Constantin Psarros¹  Constantin Soldatos¹  Thomas Paparrigopoulos¹  Christos Theleritis¹  Yiannis Tountas²  Chara Tzavara² 

[1] 1st Department of Psychiatry, University of Athens Medical School, Eginition Hospital, Athens, Greece;Center for Health Services Research, University of Athens Medical School, Athens, Greece;

关键词: International Physical Activity Questionnaire;    Insomnia Symptom;    Greek Population;    Life Habit;    National Household Survey;   

DOI  :  10.1186/1471-2458-10-531

 received in 2010-04-25, accepted in 2010-09-03,  发布年份 2010

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundInsomnia is a major public health concern affecting about 10% of the general population in its chronic form. Furthermore, epidemiological surveys demonstrate that poor sleep and sleep dissatisfaction are even more frequent problems (10-48%) in the community. This is the first report on the prevalence of insomnia in Greece, a southeastern European country which differs in several socio-cultural and climatic aspects from the rest of European Community members. Data obtained from a national household survey (n = 1005) were used to assess the relationship between insomnia symptoms and a variety of sociodemographic variables, life habits, and health-related factors.MethodsA self-administered questionnaire with questions pertaining to general health and related issues was given to the participants. The Short Form-36 (Mental Health subscale), the Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS) as a measure of insomnia-related symptoms, and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) were also used for the assessment.ResultsThe prevalence of insomnia in the total sample was 25.3% (n = 254); insomnia was more frequent in women than men (30.7% vs. 19.5%) and increased with age. Multiple regression analysis revealed a significant association of insomnia with low socio-economical status and educational level, physical inactivity, existence of a chronic physical or mental disease and increased number of hospitalizations in the previous year.ConclusionsThe present study confirms most findings reported from other developed countries around the world regarding the high prevalence of insomnia problems in the general population and their association with several sociodemographic and health-related predisposing factors. These results further indicate the need for more active interventions on the part of physicians who should suspect and specifically ask about such symptoms.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© Paparrigopoulos et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2010