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Fatigue, insomnia and nervousness: gender disparities and roles of individual characteristics and lifestyle factors among economically active people

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Abstract

Background

Individuals with certain personal, family and job characteristics are at elevated risk of poor mental health. Yet, the respective role of obesity, smoking, alcohol abuse, low education, income, living and family conditions, and socio-occupational category in fatigue/insomnia (FI), nervousness (N) and frequent drug use for those disorders (DFI and DN) among men and women and in gender disparities are not well known.

Methods

We studied gender differences in FI, N, DFI, DN, and in their correlated, and whether the gender differences were mediated by individual and lifestyle factors among 3,450 active subjects aged 18–64, randomly selected from North-eastern France. Subjects completed a post-mailed questionnaire. Data were analyzed via adjusted odds ratio (ORa) computed with the logistic regression model.

Results

Women were more affected than men for FI (21.3 vs. 13.1%, OR adjusted for age ORa 1.80, 95% CI 1.50–2.16), DFI (11.6 vs. 7.1%, ORa 1.74, 1.38–2.21), N (14.7 vs. 9.9%, ORa 1.58, 1.28–1.94), and for DN (12.1 vs. 5.7%, ORa 2.29, 1.79–2.94). These differences were not mediated by the individual characteristics studied. Multivariate analysis showed that the risk patterns varied between the two sexes. Smoking was related to N in men as well as in women; alcohol abuse to DFI in men only; lack of family support to all outcome variables in men and women; low educational level to DFI in men only; low income to FI, N and DN in men and to FI and DN in women; being unmarried to DN in men; being divorced/separated to N and DN in women; being a manual worker to FI and being a farmer to DFI in men; and being a manual worker to DN and being an employee to FI in women (1.50 ≤ ORa ≤ 2.95).

Conclusions

Women suffered more from fatigue/insomnia and nervousness and used more drug for those disorders than men. Socio-demographic and lifestyle factors played significant roles among men and women but they did not explain the gender disparities.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank D. Saouag, M. Weiss, M. Depesme-Cuny, and B. Phélut for their help with the study. The work is supported by a grant from the Pôle Européen de Santé.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. INSERM, UMR379, Marseille, France

    Patrick Peretti-Watel

  2. INSERM, U 669, 8 rue du Breuil, 54180, Heillecourt, France

    Stéphane Legleye, Marie Choquet, Bruno Falissard & Nearkasen Chau

  3. Univ Paris-Sud and Univ Paris Descartes, UMR-S0669, Paris, France

    Stéphane Legleye, Marie Choquet, Bruno Falissard & Nearkasen Chau

  4. Observatoire Français des Drogues et des Toxicomanies, Paris, France

    Stéphane Legleye

  5. Integrative Research Unit on Social and Individual Development (INSIDE), University of Luxembourg, Walferdange, Luxembourg

    Michèle Baumann

  6. AP-HP, Villejuif, France

    Bruno Falissard

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  1. Patrick Peretti-Watel
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  2. Stéphane Legleye
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The Lorhandicap Group

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Correspondence to Nearkasen Chau.

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The members of the Lorhandicap Group are: N. Chau, F. Guillemin, J. F. Ravaud, J. Sanchez, S. Guillaume, J. P. Michaely, C. Otero Sierra, B. Legras, A. Dazord, M. Choquet, L. Méjean, N. Tubiana-Rufi, J. P. Meyer, Y. Schléret, J. M. Mur.

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Peretti-Watel, P., Legleye, S., Baumann, M. et al. Fatigue, insomnia and nervousness: gender disparities and roles of individual characteristics and lifestyle factors among economically active people. Soc Psychiat Epidemiol 44, 703–709 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-008-0487-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-008-0487-x

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