Publication:

A cross-sectional, multi-centric, epidemiology study to determine the prevalence of insomnia and related sleep habits in Indian hypertensive patients

Background Hypertension is a leading risk factor affecting mortality and disability-adjusted life years worldwide. The objective of the study was to determine the prevalence of insomnia, co-morbid medical conditions, lifestyle attributes, related sleep habits and sleep quality among Indian hypertensive patients.

Methods Adults (≥18 years) with newly diagnosed or known history of hypertension, willing to participate were enrolled in this cross-sectional, epidemiological study. Several variables including lifestyle attributes, sleep habits, quality, medications, demographics, medical/surgical history and other details pertaining to hypertension were analyzed. Insomnia was assessed by Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS) in patients not identified in the past one month.

Results All the 657 enrolled patients completed the study (mean age: 55.4±11.61 years; men: 53.7%; women: 46.3%). Prevalence of insomnia among hypertensive population was approximately 47.2% (n=310; 95% CI: 43.4, 51.0). Number of patients newly diagnosed with insomnia by AIS scale was higher compared with patients already diagnosed with insomnia (34.9% [95% CI: 31.2, 38.5] vs. 12.3% [95% CI: 9.81, 14.8]). Common medical conditions associated with hypertension were diabetes mellitus (61.1%) and dyslipidemia (28.3%). More than half of the hypertensive patients with insomnia had sleep-related problems once or twice a week. Further, the daytime impact of insufficient sleep on wellbeing and functioning was markedly decreased in insomniac patients.

Conclusions Prevalence of insomnia among patients suffering from hypertension was higher than that reported in general Indian population in various studies. Present study shows that about 75% insomniac cases were undiagnosed, indicating that insomnia diagnosis may have been missed in a large proportion of hypertensive patients.