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Sleep Disorders News & Links |
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Co-morbidity caused by sleep disorders causes a huge burden on our health care system. Primary Insomnia is a chronic & relapsing condition. Likely consequences include reduced quality of life & increased risk of accidents owing to daytime sleepiness. People with primary insomnia may be at greater risk of dependence on hypnotic medication, depression, dementia, & falls, & may be more likely to require residential care. (Reynolds CF, Buysse DJ, Kupfer DJ. Treating insomnia in older adults: taking a long term view. JAMA 1999;281:1034–1035). Chronic Sleep Disturbance is highly correlated with psychiatric illness. In epidemiological surveys of the general adult population, at least one third of individuals with significant complaints of insomnia or hypersomnia showed evidence of primary psychiatric disorders, whereas rates of psychiatric illness were significantly lower in those without sleep complaints. (Mellinger et al., 1985; Ford et al., 1989). Increased rates of Psychiatric Disorders in individuals with sleep complaints:
(Walsh et al., 1994). Systemic Hypertension is observed in 50-70% of patients with sleep apnoea. Several large cross-sectional studies have demonstrated that sleep apnoea is an independent risk factor for developing hypertension. Over 60% of patients with Congestive Heart Failure have a significant sleep & breathing disorder, & 30% of people with known coronary Heart Disease concurrently exhibit sleep apnoea. If you suffer from Sleep Apnoea, you may have several hundred involuntary cessations in airflow, or "apnoeic events" each night. It is important that sleep apnoea be recognized & treated early because the condition is associated with cardiac arrhythmias, high blood pressure (experienced by up to 50 percent of sleep apnoea patients), & a higher risk of heart attack & stroke. Other possible consequences of sleep apnoea include depression, irritability, sexual dysfunction, nocturia (the need to urinate multiple times nightly), learning & memory difficulties & falling asleep while at work, on the phone or driving. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Click on the links below:
Most sleep disorders are undiagnosed & patients are not treated. There is an unnecessarily high death rate directly attributable to sleep disorders. Co-morbidity caused by sleep disorders causes a huge burden on our health care system. (Current Page).
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