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

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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.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chest Diseases, Hacettepe University, Sihhiye, Ankara, 06100, Turkey

    Ahmet U. Demir

  2. Department of Chest Diseases, Ministry of Health Diskapi Yildirim Beyazit Training and Research Hospital, Turkey

    Sadik Ardic

  3. Sleep Disorders Diagnosis and Treatment Center, Ministry of Health Diskapi Yildirim Beyazit Training and Research Hospital, Turkey

    Hikmet Firat

  4. Department of Neurology, Cerrahpasa University, Istanbul, Turkey

    Derya Karadeniz

  5. Department of Neurology, Erciyes University, Kayseri, Turkey

    Murat Aksu

  6. Department of Pulmonary Diseases, Dr Suat Seren Chest Diseases and Surgery Training and Research Hospital, Kayseri, Turkey

    Zeynep Zeren Ucar

  7. Department of Neurology, Mersin University, Mersin, Turkey

    Serhan Sevim

  8. Department of Psychiatry, Gulhane Military Academy of Medicine, Turkey

    Fuat Ozgen

  9. Department of Neurology, Celal Bayar University, Manisa, Turkey

    Hikmet Yilmaz

  10. Department of Chest Diseases, Dokuz Eylül University, Izmir, Turkey

    Oya Itil

  11. Department of Emergency and Cardiovascular Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg and Sleep Medicine Unit, Skaraborg Hospital, Skövde, Sweden

    Yuksel Peker

  12. Epidemiology Unit, Refik Saydam National Public Health Agency, Turkey

    Fatma Aygul

  13. Department of Occupational Health and Medicine, Institute of Public Health, Turkey

    Sibel Kiran

  14. Department of Educational Sciences, Hacettepe University, Turkey

    Selahattin Gelbal & Zafer Cepni

  15. Ankara, Turkey

    Mehmet Akozer

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  1. Ahmet U. Demir
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Correspondence to Ahmet U. Demir.

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Demir, A.U., Ardic, S., Firat, H. et al. Prevalence of sleep disorders in the Turkish adult population epidemiology of sleep study. Sleep Biol. Rhythms 13, 298–308 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1111/sbr.12118

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