A new study reveals that there might be a connection between insomnia and increased inflammation and mortality. A group of researchers found that people who suffer from persistent insomnia are at a greater risk than those who experience intermittent insomnia.
The researchers from the University of Arizona were able to publish their study, published in The American Journal of Medicine. Insomnia has become a public health threat because of the increasing number of people without sufficient sleep not only in the United States, but in the whole world.
In fact, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, around 30% of adults have insomnia and 10% of adults experience severe insomnia that their daytime activities are compromised. In the United States, around 20% experience insomnia and 10% of those experience is continuously or persistently.
Studies in the past have shown that insomnia and premature death are associated with each other. However, these studies did not specify if these deaths were due to persistent or intermittent insomnia.
Intermittent insomnia is different from chronic insomnia in the sense that it is usually caused by instances like an examination or an interview for employment. On the other hand,persistent insomnia is long-term. It is characterized by continuous inability to fall asleep on several nights a week that can last for months or years.
The researchers from the University of Arizona in Tucson wanted to identify the link between insomnia and increased risk of premature death and if they are influenced by the type of insomnia experienced by the person.
Lead researcher, Sairam Parthasarathy, associate professor of medicine at the University of Arizona College of Medicine and director of the Center for Sleep Disorders at the University of Arizona Medical Center, said, "We hypothesized that insomnia that was persistent over 8 years, rather than intermittent insomnia, was associated with death independent of the effects of sedatives, opportunity for sleep (to distinguish it from sleep deprivation), and other confounding factors in a representative sample of the general adult community."
She added in a report from Medical News Today, "An enhanced understanding of the association between persistence of insomnia and death would inform treatment of the 'at-risk' population."
Professor Parthasarathy and colleagues examined data from 1,409 adults who took part in the Tucson Epidemiological Study of Airway Obstructive Disease (TESAOD). The respondents were enrolled in 1972 and they were surveyed until 1996. Then, deaths in the group were monitored until 2011. Thus, the study was conducted in 38 years.
Their findings show that continuous or persistent insomnia is linked to 58% increased risk of premature death. The group also collected blood samples from the start of the study and at intervals which were preserved. Survey of their sleep habits was also monitored.
Therefore, they were able to collect the necessary markers for their findings. The results indicated that the excess deaths in the persistent insomnia group were due to cardiopulmonary factors rather than cancer.
They rooted the cause to inflammation. From the analysis of blood analysis, they found out that the levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) which is a measure of inflammation and a risk factor for mortality were increased in the group with persistent insomnia.
Even if they adjusted factors like smoking, it was still increased to 36%.
This study has shown how insomnia and lack of sufficient sleep can pose serious health problems in the future.
