Prevalence of sleep disorders in the Turkish adult population epidemiology of sleep study

Abstract

Sleep disorders constitute an important public health problem. Prevalence of sleep disorders in Turkish adult population was investigated in a nationwide representative sample of 5021 Turkish adults (2598 women and 2423 men, response rate: 91%) by an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Insomnia was defined by the DSM-IV criteria, habitual snoring and risk for sleep-related breathing disorders (SDB) by the Berlin questionnaire, excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) by the Epworth sleepiness scale score, and restless legs syndrome (RLS) by the complaints according to the International Restless Legs Syndrome Study Group criteria. Mean age of the participants was 40.7 +/- 15.1 (range 18 to 90) years. Prevalence rates (men/women) were insomnia 15.3% (10.5%/20.2%; P < 0.001), high probability of SDB 13.7% (11.1%/20.2%; P < 0.001), EDS 5.4% (5.0%/5.7%; P: 0.09), RLS 5.2% (3.0%/7.3%; P < 0.001). Aging and female gender were associated with higher prevalence of sleep disorders except for habitual snoring. Prevalence rates of the sleep disorders among Turkish adults based on the widely used questionnaires were close to the lower end of the previous estimates reported from different parts of the world. These findings would help for the assessment of the health burden of sleep disorders and addressing the risk groups for planning and implementation of health care.