THE RELATION OF SLEEP COMPLAINTS TO RESPIRATORY SYMPTOMS IN A GENERAL-POPULATION

Based on data obtained from the Tucson Epidemiologic Study of Chronic Lung Disease that included body weight, questionnaire responses, and s pirometry, we found that among subjects with no respiratory symptoms, 28.0 percent reported insomnia (difficulty initiating or maintaining s leep) and 9.4 percent reported daytime sleepiness. Among subjects with respiratory symptoms, cough and/or wheeze, the rates of sleep complai nts increased. With one symptom, 39.1 percent reported insomnia and 12 .4 percent reported daytime sleepiness. With both symptoms, the rates were 52.8 percent and 22.8 percent, respectively. Overall, we found si gnificant relationships between rates of respiratory symptoms and slee p complaints (trend chi(2) = 73.9, p < 0.001 for insomnia; trend chi(2 ) = 37.9, p<0.001 for daytime sleepiness). In separate analyses, obesi ty, snoring, and a diagnosis of lung disease also influenced the rate of sleep complaints but, when we employed logistic regression, we foun d that obesity, respiratory symptoms, gender, and age were the only va riables related to the risk of insomnia or daytime sleepiness.