Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-4rdpn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-19T06:46:33.081Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Prevalence of insomnia and associated factors in a community sample of elderly individuals in South Korea

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 June 2013

Won-Hyoung Kim ,
Byung-Soo Kim ,
Shyn-Kyum Kim ,
Sung-Man Chang ,
Dong-Woo Lee ,
Maeng-Je Cho  and
Jae-Nam Bae
Won-Hyoung Kim
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Inha University Hospital, Incheon, South Korea
Byung-Soo Kim
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Kyungpook National University Hospital, Daegu, South Korea
Shyn-Kyum Kim
Affiliation:
Department of Neuropsychiatry, Yangsan Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Yangsan, South Korea
Sung-Man Chang
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Kyungpook National University Hospital, Daegu, South Korea
Dong-Woo Lee
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Inje University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea
Maeng-Je Cho
Affiliation:
Department of Neuropsychiatry, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, South Korea
Jae-Nam Bae*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Inha University Hospital, Incheon, South Korea
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: Dr. Jae-Nam Bae, MD, PhD, Department and Research Institute of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, Inha University, 7-206, 3-Ga, Shinheung-Dong, Jung-Gu, In-Cheon 400-711, South Korea. Phone: +82-32-890-3592; Fax: +82-32-890-3558. Email: [email protected].
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Background: Insomnia is a common psychiatric complaint among elderly individuals. This study investigates the prevalence and sociodemographic correlates of insomnia by considering a community sample of elderly individuals in South Korea.

Methods: A face-to-face household survey was conducted in five regions of South Korea from June 2008 to August 2008. Among a total of 3,074 individuals aged 65 years and over, 2,002 participants were interviewed. The presence of insomnia was defined as having at least one of four sleep complaints that included difficulty in initiating sleep (DIS), difficulty in maintaining sleep (DMS), early morning awakening (EMA), and non-restorative sleep (NRS) more than three times per week in the last month. The Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) Questionnaire, a short form of the Geriatric Depression scale (GDS), and a medical review of systems were implemented.

Results: Insomnia was found in 29.2% of the participants. DIS, DMS, EMA, and NRS accounted for 19.4%, 21.7%, 19.6%, and 8.0% of the participants respectively. Insomnia accompanied by daytime consequences accounted for 17.1% of the participants. The participants who were females, had no education, lived alone, showed symptoms of RLS or depression, and had a lifetime history of physical illness were significantly more likely to report insomnia. The prevalence of DIS, DMS, EMA, or insomnia increased slightly with age, whereas that of NRS decreased slightly. The lifetime history of head trauma, hyperlipidemia, heart disease, anemia, or depression was significantly related to insomnia.

Conclusion: Sleep problems are common among elderly individuals and are closely related to their lifetime history of physical illness.

Keywords

medical comorbiditysleep disorderepidemiology
Type
Research Article
Information
International Psychogeriatrics , Volume 25 , Issue 10 , October 2013 , pp. 1729 - 1737
Copyright
Copyright © International Psychogeriatric Association 2013 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Allen, R. P., Picchietti, D., Hening, W. A., Trenkwalder, C., Walters, A. S. and Montplaisir, J. (2003). Restless legs syndrome: diagnostic criteria, special considerations, and epidemiology. A report from the restless legs syndrome diagnosis and epidemiology workshop at the National Institutes of Health. Sleep Medicine, 4, 101–119.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, revised 4th edn (DSM-IV-TR). Washington, DC: APA.Google Scholar
Bae, J. N. and Cho, M. J. (2004). Development of the Korean version of the Geriatric Depression Scale and its short form among elderly psychiatric patients. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 57, 297–305.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bolge, S. C., Doan, J. F., Kannan, H. and Baran, R. W. (2009). Association of insomnia with quality of life, work productivity, and activity impairment. Quaity of Life Research, 18, 415–422.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bonanni, E.et al. (2010). Sleep disturbances in elderly subjects: an epidemiological survey in an Italian district. Acta Neurologica Scandinavica, 122, 389–397.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bulcun, E., Ekici, M. and Ekici, A. (2012). Disorders of glucose metabolism and insulin resistance in patients with obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome. International Journal of Clinical Practice, 66, 91–97.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Demyttenaere, K.et al. (2004). Prevalence, severity, and unmet need for treatment of mental disorders in the World Health Organization World Mental Health Surveys. The Journal of the American Medical Association, 291, 2581–2590.Google ScholarPubMed
Kim, K. W.et al. (2011). A nationwide survey on the prevalence of dementia and mild cognitive impairment in South Korea. Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, 23, 281–291.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kim, B. S.et al. (2012a). DSM-IV psychiatric comorbidity according to symptoms of insomnia: a nationwide sample of Korean adults. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 47, 2019–2033.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kim, W. H.et al. (2012b). Restless legs syndrome in older people: a community-based study on its prevalence and association with major depressive disorder in older Korean adults. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 27, 565–572.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lee, J. H.et al. (2002). Development of the Korean version of the Consortium to establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Packet (CERAD-K): clinical and neuropsychological assessment batteries. Journals of Gerontology. Series B. Psychological Sciences and Society Sciences, 57, 47–53.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lee, D. Y.et al. (2004). A normative study of the CERAD neuropsychological assessment battery in the Korean elderly. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 10, 72–81CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Liu, X.et al. (2000). Sleep loss and daytime sleepiness in the general adult population of Japan. Psychiatry Research, 93, 1–11.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
López-Torres, H. J., Navarro, B. B., Párraga, M. I., Andrés, P. F., Téllez, L. J., and Boix, G. C. (2011). Understanding insomnia in older adults. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 27, 1086–1093.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MacLean, A. W. and Cairns, J. (1982). Dose-response effects of ethanol on young men. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 43, 434–444.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Makhlouf, M. M., Ayoub, A. I. and Abdel-Fattah, M. M. (2007). Insomnia symptoms and their correlates among the elderly in geriatric homes in Alexandria, Egypt. Sleep & Breathing, 11, 187–194.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Neubauer, D. N. (1999). Sleep problems in the elderly. American Family Physician, 59, 2551–2558.Google ScholarPubMed
Ohayon, M. M. (1997). Prevalence of DSM-IV diagnostic criteria of insomnia: distinguishing insomnia related to mental disorders from sleep disorders. Journal of Psychiastr Research, 31, 333–346.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ohayon, M. M. and Hong, S. C. (2002). Prevalence of insomnia and associated factors in South Korea. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 53, 593–600.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Roberts, R. E., Shema, S. J., Kaplan, G. A. and Strawbridge, W. J. (2000). Sleep complaints and depression in an aging cohort: a prospective perspective. American Journal of Psychiatry, 157, 81–88.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rocha, F. L., Guerra, H. L. and Lima-costa, M. F. (2002). Prevalence of insomnia and associated socio-demographic factors in a Brazilian community: the Bambui study. Sleep Medicine, 3, 121–126.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roth, T., Jaeger, S., Jin, R., Kalsekar, A., Stang, P. E. and Kessler, R. C. (2006). Sleep problems, comorbid mental disorders, and role functioning in the national comorbidity survey replication. Biological Psychiatry, 60, 1364–1371.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Su, T. P., Huang, S. R. and Chou, P. (2004). Prevalence and risk factors of insomnia in community-dwelling Chinese elderly: a Taiwanese urban area survey. The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 38, 706–713.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sutton, D. A., Moldofsky, H. and Badley, E. M. (2001). Insomnia and health problems in Canadians. Sleep, 24, 665–670.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Voderholzer, U., Al-Shajlawi, A., Weske, G., Feige, B. and Riemann, D. (2003). Are there gender differences in objective and subjective sleep measures? A study of insomniacs and healthy controls. Depression and Anxiety, 17, 162–172.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Xiang, Y. T.et al. (2008). The prevalence of insomnia, its sociodemographic and clinical correlates, and treatment in rural and urban regions of Beijing, China: a general population-based survey. Sleep, 31, 1655–1662.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yang, C. K., Yoo, S. Y., Joo, Y. H. and Hahn, H. M. (1997). Sleep habits and sleep disorders among the elderly between 65–84 years who are living in a part of Pusan. Sleep Medical Psychophysiology, 4, 66–76.Google Scholar
Yoon, J. S., Shin, I. S. and Kim, J. M. (1999). Sleep patterns and problems of the Korean elderly in urban and rural areas. Korean Journal of Sleep Medicine, 1, 42–49.Google Scholar