Prévalence et facteurs sociodémographiques associés à l’insomnie et au temps de sommeil en France (15–85 ans)

Abstract

IntroductionSleep is considered as a major protective factor for good health and quality of life. The epidemiology of chronic insomnia and other sleep disorders has recently been developed in France. The aim of this study was to evaluate total sleep time and the prevalence of chronic insomnia in the general population aged 15 to 85years. It was also to investigate factors associated with sleep disorders. MethodsWithin the framework of the Health Barometer 2010, a French general population survey, 27,653 15 to 85-year-old individuals were questioned about their health behaviors and attitudes, in particular about their sleeping time and habits. ResultsThe average sleeping time of the 15 to 85-year-old was 7hours 13minutes. It was higher for women than for men (7hours 18minutes vs 7hours 07minutes; P<0.001), whereas 15.8 % of the population presented criteria for chronic insomnia, 19.3 % of women and 11.9 % of men (P<0.001). The prevalence of chronic insomnia was stable with age among women, around 19 %, whereas it increased for men from 3 % in the 15–19-year age range to 18 % in the 45–54-year age range, before decreasing to 8 % beyond 65years. Chronic insomnia was also found to be related to precarious situations and to several difficult events of life such as violence or chronic alcohol abuse, whereas the relationship observed with tobacco smoking was no longer found after logistic regression adjustment for socio-demographic characteristics. Since the beginning of 1990s, a single-question inquiry on “sleeping problems present during the last 8days” has been asked in the Health Barometer. The rate of subjects concerned increased from 1995, with a prevalence stabilized at a high level since 2000. ConclusionsBased on these data, we think that the surveillance of sleep disorders is an important public health issue and that prevention and health educational initiatives should be launched in the general population to promote a better quality of sleep.