Relationship between sleep and health-related quality of life in patients affected with insomnia : a systematic review

Abstract

Background Insomnia is a common and increasing illness among general population all over the world. With insomnia, patients would more likely to have physical, social dysfunction and mood disorders, and even have increased risk of accidents. Therefore, identifying the harm of insomnia and improving the quality of life of patients are very important. Objectives The objective of this systematic review is to evaluate quality of life in patients affected with insomnia. Particularly focuses on the following two question: 1) How insomnia impact quality of life in patients with insomnia. 2) What factors affect quality of life among people with insomnia, such as demographic factors, physical and psychological factors. Methods Systematic reviewing the articles from 1990 to 2013 in PubMed and Medline, which evaluated the quality of life in patients affected with insomnia, using the keywords “insomnia” AND “quality of life”. Results and Discussion There were 9 articles have been included in this review. The year were ranged from 1998 to 2012,8 out of 9 papers had the average age ranged from 42-57 year old. Insomnia significantly related to all of the eight domains and PCS,MCS of QOL negatively, and both of the severity of insomnia and the number of sleep problems have negative impact on QOL. Moreover, regarding the factors which affect QOL of patients, older, female, not married, smoking, drinking, psychiatric disorders and without treatment were associated with lower QOL. Furthermore, regarding the future directions, in Hong Kong the application of the results in this review is appropriate but still need more studies which evaluating the associated factors of insomniacs’ QOL with validated Chinese version QOL measures. Conclusion There was a negative relationship between insomnia and quality of life, and the severity of insomnia and the number of sleep problems had negative impact on quality of life. Particularly, older, female, single statuse, smoking, drinking, psychiatric disorders had negative influence on patients’s QOL. Regarding the control strategies, using appropriate medical treatment under physician guidance, consultation of mental disorders, increasing the public awareness of the harm of insomnia play a pivotal role in reduce the impairment of insomnia.