Prevalence of Insomnia Among Patients with Bronchial Asthma

Abstract

Background

Insomnia is commonly reported in patients with asthma. However, the prevalence of insomnia and its relationship to asthma control have not been established.

Objective

To determine the prevalence of insomnia in adults with asthma and to evaluate the association between insomnia and level of asthma control.

Methods

This is a cross-sectional study of 200 patients recruited from pulmonary clinics at a tertiary care center. Adults (age ≥16 years) diagnosed with asthma by the primary treating physician were recruited over a 6-month period from December 2018 to May 2019. Asthma and insomnia severity were assessed using the Asthma Control Test and Insomnia Severity Index (ISI).

Results

The mean age of participants was 51±17 years, and 67% were female. Insomnia (ISI score ≥10) was present in 46.5% of the participants. The severity of insomnia was inversely related to the level of asthma control: moderate-to-severe insomnia was more frequent in patients with uncontrolled asthma (43%) than in those with partially controlled asthma (25%) or well-controlled asthma (12%) (P < 0.05 for all comparisons).

Conclusion

Insomnia is common among patients with asthma, especially those with suboptimal asthma control. Further investigations are required to more fully understand the complex relationship between asthma and insomnia.

Keywords:

• prevalence
• asthma
• insomnia
• asthma control
• Insomnia Severity Index

Data Sharing Statement

The datasets used and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Ethics Approval and Consent to Participate

The study was approved by the institutional review board of King Abdullah International Medical Research Center (KAIMRC) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments. Written informed consent was obtained from all participants.

Author Contributions

All authors made a significant contribution to the work reported, whether that is in the conception, study design, execution, acquisition of data, analysis and interpretation, or in all these areas; took part in drafting, revising or critically reviewing the article; gave final approval of the version to be published; have agreed on the journal to which the article has been submitted; and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

Disclosure

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Additional information

Funding

This study received no funding.