Increased prevalence of sleep disturbances and daytime sleepiness in subjects with bronchial asthma: a population study of young adults in three European countries

To access publisher full text version of this article. Please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links fieldThe aim of this study was to investigate whether asthma is associated with decreased quality of sleep and increased daytime sleepiness. The study involved a random population of 2,202 subjects supplemented by 459 subjects with suspected asthma, aged 20-45 yrs. The subjects were from Reykjavik (Iceland), Uppsala and Göteborg (Sweden) and Antwerp (Belgium), and participated in the European Community Respiratory Health Survey. The investigation included a structured interview, methacholine challenge, skinprick tests and a questionnaire on sleep disturbances. Participants in Iceland and Sweden also estimated their sleep times and made peak expiratory flow (PEF) recordings during a period of 1 week. Asthma was defined as self-reported physician-diagnosed asthma with current asthma-related symptoms (n = 267). Difficulties inducing sleep (DIS) and early morning awakenings (EMA) were about twice as common, and daytime sleepiness 50% more common, in asthmatics compared with subjects without asthma. After adjusting for possible confounders, a positive association was found between asthma and: DIS (odds ratio (OR) = 1.8); EMA (OR = 2.0); daytime sleepiness (OR = 1.6); snoring (OR = 1.7); and self reported apnoeas (OR = 3.7). Allergic rhinitis, which was reported by 71% of subjects with asthma, was independently related to DIS (OR = 2.0) and daytime sleepiness (OR = 1.3). A significant correlation was found between the number of asthma-related symptoms and sleep disturbances (p < 0.001). Asthma is associated with decreased subjective quality of sleep and increased daytime sleepiness. Concurrent allergic rhinitis may be an important underlying cause of sleep impairment in asthmatic patients

Sleep habits and sleep disturbances among the elderly--an epidemiological survey

To access publisher full text version of this article. Please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links fieldOBJECTIVES: To analyse simultaneously sleep habits and sleep disturbances in an elderly population and numerous factors possibly affecting sleep at the same time. DESIGN: A cross-sectional epidemiological survey by means of questionnaires. SETTING: The capital city of Iceland, Reykjavík and surrounding suburbs. PARTICIPANTS: A randomly selected, but stratified sample with 100 men and 100 women in each 5-year age group of the ages 65-84 years--800 individuals altogether. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Sleep habits and sleep disturbances. RESULTS: The mean duration of sleep was 7.25 h (SD 74 min). Mean sleep onset time was 00.13 hours and was not related to age and gender but was delayed at weekends. Daytime napping was reported by 50% of the men and 31% of the women (P < 0.001). Difficulty maintaining sleep (DMS) was the most commonly reported insomnia complaint (men 37% and women 30%). Sleep charts revealed that men woke up an average of 1.2 times per night but women 0.8 times per night (P < 0.01). Difficulty initiating sleep was reported by 9.6% and early morning awakening (EMA) by 16.7%. Pain was a strong factor contributing to EMA. There was also an increase in EMA complaints among the elderly with obstructive pulmonary diseases and systemic hypertension. The prevelance of insomnia was only partly related to age and gender. Multiple regression analyses, however, showed different interrelationships between insomnia and other symptoms and findings for men versus women. CONCLUSION: DMS is the most commonly reported insomnia complaint among the elderly (men 37% and women 30%). The prevalence of insomnia did not increase with age in our study group

Medical risk factors amongst drivers in single-car accidents

To access publisher full text version of this article. Please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links fieldOBJECTIVES: To estimate medical risk factors amongst drivers in single-car accidents with special reference to sleepiness and alcohol abuse. DESIGN: An epidemiological survey by means of multiple-choice questionnaires that were mailed to drivers and a random control group. SETTING: Iceland. SUBJECTS: All drivers in single-car accidents (n = 471) during 1989-91 and a control group from the general population (n = 1000). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Medical health profile and answers to questions concerning sleep disorders and alcohol abuse. RESULTS: Compared to the controls the drivers were younger and there were three times more males. The drivers abused alcohol more often. Chronic disorders such as epilepsy, diabetes mellitus, and cardiac disorders were not over-represented. Altogether, 15.4% claimed that sleepiness had caused their traffic accident, logistic regression analyses revealed that these 'sleepy' drivers more often had alcohol abuse and a history of 'almost falling a sleep whilst driving'. CONCLUSIONS: Compared to controls, drivers in single-car accidents are more likely to be young, male, have a history of sleepiness whilst driving, and also have a history suggestive of alcoholism. Chronic disorders like epilepsy and diabetes mellitus were not over-represented amongst the single-car accidents drivers. These results raise the question of how drivers with a high probability of causing an accident (sleepiness and alcoholism) can be identified in time and proper measures taken to prevent 'accidents waiting to happen'

Sleep and sleep habits from childhood to young adulthood over a 10-year period

To access publisher full text version of this article. Please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links fieldThe aim of this epidemiological study was to utilise a cross-sectional as well as a longitudinal approach to examine sleep habits and how they develop in young people in Iceland. The 668 subjects (1-20 years) who responded to a postal survey in 1985 were followed up 5 and 10 years later. The majority of the variance in bedtime and sleep duration was explained by age, but also to a considerable degree by other factors such as residence, season, and year of survey or interaction of these factors. Natural phenomena, such as the diminution of total sleep duration in the first years of life and the tendency for longer sleep on weekends compared to weekdays were confirmed. The lengthening of sleep on weekends was first significant at the age of 9 and was greater among adolescents than young adults. The incidence of daytime sleepiness increased in adolescence, as did napping, at which time their nocturnal sleep time significantly decreased. Over a period of 10 years, a significant shift to earlier wake-up times occurred in children up to 15 years of age, which resulted in a shortened total sleep time. The idea that individual sleep duration is an inherent parameter is supported by the high positive correlation of total sleep time across a 10-year period (r=.73). The present data confirm that Icelandic adolescents (aged 11, 13, and 15) have delayed bedtimes and shorter nocturnal sleep compared to European peers

Programme for Laying the Foundation Stones of the Commencement Column at the Federal Capital City 12th March 1913

To access publisher full text version of this article. Please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links fieldThe lower limit of the prevalence of sleep apnea syndrome (SAS) was estimated among women 40 to 59 years old by a two-stage procedure. In the first stage 2,016 questionnaires were mailed. The response rate was 75.6 percent. Daytime sleepiness was reported by 8.2 percent, habitual snoring by 11.2 percent, and intermittent snoring by 21.7 percent. There were altogether 128 women described with systemic hypertension and these women were more than twice as often habitual snorers. Logistic multiple regression analyses showed almost a threefold increase in the predicted prevalence of hypertension among intermittent and habitual snorers compared with nonsnorers in the age group 40 to 49 years old and a 60 percent increase in the 50- to 59-year-old age group. In the second stage, a group of 97 women highly suspected of SAS were selected because of their habitual snoring and daytime sleepiness. Eventually, 35 of these came for night studies and 14 were found to have SAS. Among the 35 women, 12 were hypertensive and nine of these had SAS. We estimated the lower limit of the prevalence of SAS to be 2.5 percent for women 40 to 59 years old. It is concluded that SAS is a relatively common occurrence among women, especially postmenopausal ones, and it is strongly related to hypertension

Additional support for schizophrenia linkage on chromosomes 6 and 8: a multicenter study.

To access publisher full text version of this article. Please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links fieldIn response to reported schizophrenia linkage findings on chromosomes 3, 6 and 8, fourteen research groups genotyped 14 microsatellite markers in an unbiased, collaborative (New) sample of 403-567 informative pedigrees per marker, and in the Original sample which produced each finding (the Johns Hopkins University sample of 46-52 informative pedigrees for chromosomes 3 and 8, and the Medical College of Virginia sample of 156-191 informative pedigrees for chromosome 6). Primary planned analyses (New sample) were two-point heterogeneity lod score (lod2) tests (dominant and recessive affected-only models), and multipoint affected sibling pair (ASP) analysis, with a narrow diagnostic model (DSM-IIIR schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorders). Regions with positive results were also analyzed in the Original and Combined samples. There was no evidence for linkage on chromosome 3. For chromosome 6, ASP maximum lod scores (MLS) were 2.19 (New sample, nominal p = 0.001) and 2.68 (Combined sample, p = .0004). For chromosome 8, maximum lod2 scores (tests of linkage with heterogeneity) were 2.22 (New sample, p = .0014) and 3.06 (Combined sample, p = .00018). Results are interpreted as inconclusive but suggestive of linkage in the latter two regions. We discuss possible reasons for failing to achieve a conclusive result in this large sample. Design issues and limitations of this type of collaborative study are discussed, and it is concluded that multicenter follow-up linkage studies of complex disorders can help to direct research efforts toward promising regions

View of Swanston Street from Council House 2 [CH2], Melbourne, May 2007 [picture] /

Title devised by cataloguer based on information from acquisition documentation.; Part of collection: Changes to the built environment in the City of Melbourne, Southbank and Docklands, 4-7 May 2007; Acquired in digital format; access copy available online.; The National Library acknowledges the support of the City of Melbourne.; Mode of access: Internet via World Wide Web.; Photographed by the National Library's photographers, Damian McDonald and Greg Power, 4-7 May 2007

Increased prevalence of sleep disturbances and daytime sleepiness in subjects with bronchial asthma: a population study of young adults in three European countries

To access publisher full text version of this article. Please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links fieldThe aim of this study was to investigate whether asthma is associated with decreased quality of sleep and increased daytime sleepiness. The study involved a random population of 2,202 subjects supplemented by 459 subjects with suspected asthma, aged 20-45 yrs. The subjects were from Reykjavik (Iceland), Uppsala and Göteborg (Sweden) and Antwerp (Belgium), and participated in the European Community Respiratory Health Survey. The investigation included a structured interview, methacholine challenge, skinprick tests and a questionnaire on sleep disturbances. Participants in Iceland and Sweden also estimated their sleep times and made peak expiratory flow (PEF) recordings during a period of 1 week. Asthma was defined as self-reported physician-diagnosed asthma with current asthma-related symptoms (n = 267). Difficulties inducing sleep (DIS) and early morning awakenings (EMA) were about twice as common, and daytime sleepiness 50% more common, in asthmatics compared with subjects without asthma. After adjusting for possible confounders, a positive association was found between asthma and: DIS (odds ratio (OR) = 1.8); EMA (OR = 2.0); daytime sleepiness (OR = 1.6); snoring (OR = 1.7); and self reported apnoeas (OR = 3.7). Allergic rhinitis, which was reported by 71% of subjects with asthma, was independently related to DIS (OR = 2.0) and daytime sleepiness (OR = 1.3). A significant correlation was found between the number of asthma-related symptoms and sleep disturbances (p < 0.001). Asthma is associated with decreased subjective quality of sleep and increased daytime sleepiness. Concurrent allergic rhinitis may be an important underlying cause of sleep impairment in asthmatic patients