Regional differences in the risk of insomnia symptoms among patients from general hospital outpatient clinics

Abstract

Wei Zheng,1 Xin-Ni Luo,1 Hai-Yan Li,1 Xiao-Yin Ke,1 Qing Dai,1 Chan-Juan Zhang,1 Xiang-Yang Zhang,1,2 Yu-Ping Ning1 1The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University (Guangzhou Huiai Hospital), Guangzhou, China; 2Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USA Background: Region-specific differences in the prevalence of insomnia symptoms in outpatient clinics in China have received little systematic study. This study was conducted preliminarily to examine region-specific differences in the risk of insomnia symptoms in Chinese outpatients. Method: In total, 4,399 adult outpatients (urban vs rural residents: 1,768 vs 2,631) who completed three questions focusing on insomnia symptoms were included. Their sociodemographic and clinical information were collected with standardized questionnaires. Results: The prevalence of self-reported insomnia symptoms in urban residents (23.4%) was more frequent than the prevalence in rural residents (21.2%). The estimated prevalence of insomnia symptoms was significantly lower in rural than urban residents after adjusting for the potential confounders (P=0.015). Similarly, more urban (22.9%) than rural (13.4%) residents with insomnia symptoms had significantly higher treatment rates (χ2=14.9, P<0.001). Multiple regression analyses showed that depressive symptoms, old age, and low education level were the most common risk factors for insomnia symptoms in both urban and rural residents. Conclusion: Our findings show that the prevalence of insomnia symptoms was relatively lower in rural than urban residents. Longitudinal studies are warranted to confirm the current findings. Keywords: insomnia symptoms, regional differences, China, outpatients

Keywords

• Insomnia symptoms
• Regional differences
• China
• Outpatients