Past Issues

Objectives: Previous studies have revealed inconsistent findings regarding gender differences in insomnia, and little is known about chronic insomnia. In this study, we intended to examine the characteristics of chronic insomnia across genders and compare subjective and objective measurements. Methods: We recruited study participants diagnosed with chronic insomnia of duration for more than three years. Objective measurements were done using polysomnography (PSG) and actigraphy, while subjective sleep was evaluated using sleep diaries and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Inventory (PSQI). Daytime sleepiness was assessed using the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS). Depression and anxiety levels were evaluated using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Beck Anxiety Inventory, respectively. Results: We recruited 12 male and 28 female study participants. Based on the findings of PSG, males had more sleep apnea. Actigraphy showed that males had significantly higher intradaily variability (p < 0.01) and significantly lower alpha 2 (p < 0.05) generated through detrended fluctuation analysis. Males also showed significantly less sleeping time (p < 0.05) and significantly more daytime sleepiness (p < 0.05) through subjective measurements. Significant correlations were observed not only between PSG parameters and sleep diaries (p < 0.05), PSQI (p < 0.05), and ESS (p < 0.05) but also between actigraphy parameters and sleep diaries (p < 0.05), PSQI (p < 0.05), and BDI (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Males exhibited more sleep apnea, circadian rhythm disturbances, and shorter sleep time. Discrepancies between subjective and objective measurement results were observed in patients with chronic insomnia.