Natural evolution of sleepiness. A 5-year follow-up study in a middle-aged population

The prevalence and natural evolution of sleepiness were investigated in a 5‐year follow‐up study in a middle‐aged population in Finland. In the original study a structured sleep questionnaire was completed by 1190 subjects and a 5‐year follow‐up questionnaire was returned by 626. The prevalence of s...

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Published inEuropean journal of neurology Vol. 5; no. 4; pp. 355 - 363
Main Authors Martikainen, Kirsti, Partinen, Markku, Hasan, Jóel, Urponen, Hélka, Vuori, IIkka, Laippala, Pékka
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Oxford, UK Blackwell Science Ltd 01.07.1998
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Summary:The prevalence and natural evolution of sleepiness were investigated in a 5‐year follow‐up study in a middle‐aged population in Finland. In the original study a structured sleep questionnaire was completed by 1190 subjects and a 5‐year follow‐up questionnaire was returned by 626. The prevalence of sleepiness, meaning here an unintentional tendency to fall asleep weekly in the course of everyday living, was 9.6% in the first survey and 10.6% 5 years later in the same cohort; 3.7% had been sleepy in both surveys. Sleep fragmentation, leg jerking and awakenings during sleep were common findings among sleepy subjects in both surveys. Shift‐workers and those who had irregular working hours ran a risk of chronic sleepiness. Sleepiness was also associated with poor subjective health, obesity, depression, nervousness and tension. In particular, chronically sleepy subjects had an increased risk of sleepiness‐related traffic accidents and premature retirement. Contrary to common findings from sleep laboratories, neither snoring nor self‐ or spouse‐reported breathing pauses during sleep were significantly associated with long‐term sleepiness in a non‐selected middle‐aged population. It is suggested that more attention should be paid to subjects suffering from excessive daytime sleepiness even if they do not have a history of respiratory or other known organic sleep disorder.
Bibliography:ark:/67375/WNG-MLKZP9QV-7
ArticleID:ENEENE54_0355
istex:8B2BBFC268A339859BEB0D6C8E42A026AC6A4976
ISSN:1351-5101
1468-1331
DOI:10.1046/j.1468-1331.1998.540355.x