The National Veteran Sleep Disorder Study: Descriptive Epidemiology and Secular Trends, 2000 2010.
STUDY OBJECTIVES A large proportion of individuals affected by sleep disorders are untreated and susceptible to accidents, injuries, long term sequelae (e.g. risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, psychiatric disorders) and increased mortality risk. Few studies have examined the scope and magnitude of sleep disorder diagnoses in the United States (US) or factors influencing them. Veterans are particularly vulnerable to factors that elicit or exacerbate sleep disorders. METHODS This serial cross sectional study characterized secular trends in diagnosed sleep disorders among veterans seeking care in US Veterans Health Administration facilities over an eleven year span (FY2000 2010, n 9,786,778) Electronic medical records from the national Veterans Administration Informatics and Computing Infrastructure database were accessed. Cases were defined using diagnostic codes specified by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Age adjusted annual prevalence was summarized by sex, race, combat exposure, body mass index, and comorbid diagnoses (cardiovascular disease, cancer, mental disorders) RESULTS Sleep apnea (47% and insomnia (26% were the most common diagnoses among patients with any sleep disorder. There was a six fold relative increase in total sleep disorder prevalence over the study period. Posttraumatic stress disorder, which tripled over the same time period, was associated with the highest prevalence of sleep disorders (16% among the comorbid conditions evaluated. CONCLUSIONS The results indicate a growing need for integration of sleep disorder management with patient care and health care planning among US veterans. COMMENTARY A commentary on this article appears in this issue on page 1331.
Sleep