Insomnia neglected among adults

Insomnia affects more than one-third of people between the age of 16 to 74 years. Researchers from the King's College London, UK found that sleep disturbance was a commonly reported symptom in adults and was associated with significant mental distress. It is quite likely is that insomnia remains a substantial but hidden and neglected mental health issue. Previous studies have found that insomnia is more frequent among older people, although the reasons for this are not entirely clear. To better understand the prevalence of sleep problems across a wide age range, as well as whether factors associated with such problems might change with age, the researchers analysed data on 8,580 people aged between 16 to 74 years. It was found that 37 percent of the study participants reported some degree of insomnia. Twelve percent had moderate insomnia and 13 percent had insomnia with fatigue. Only 5 percent of the respondents met the medical criteria for primary or secondary insomnia. Insomnia was most prevalent among the middle-aged people in the study, rather than the oldest. Women and people with less education were more likely to suffer from insomnia and mental and physical health problems were more common among those with sleep problems. People who were separated, divorced, or widowed were more likely to report sleep problems, and this association was stronger among younger people. Sleep problems were more strongly associated with poor physical health-related quality of life among older people. Older people were more likely to report having had insomnia for two years or more, and were more likely to be taking benzodiazepines, a class of sleep-inducing medications that includes Valium (or Clampose) and Alprax. However, only a small minority of individuals with sleep problems, even those who had suffered from insomnia for the longest time, took medication.