Article

Sleep 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 85 years. It was also to investigate factors associated
with sleep disorders. METHODS: Within 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. RESULTS: The average sleeping time of the 15 to
85-year-old was 7 hours 13 minutes. It was higher for women than for men (7 hours
18 minutes vs 7 hours 07 minutes; 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 65 years.
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 8 days" 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. CONCLUSIONS: Based 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.
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Langue : FRANCAIS