Does COPD Cause Severe Cases of Insomnia?
A couple of months ago, we discussed how chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has a high rate of associated hospitalizations due to complications of the symptoms or COPD exacerbations. Now, a new clinical study suggests that this disease can cause severe cases of insomnia as well.
In this COPD clinical study, nearly half of the people who had been diagnosed with this respiratory disease also presented with the symptoms of insomnia (about twice the rate seen in the subjects without COPD). The study also showed that the co-occurrence of mental disorders with insomnia also significantly increased the chances of hospitalization among the subjects who had COPD.
Sleeping Problems Common with COPD
Further research has shown that COPD often leads to disability, and now it seems that sleeping complications are fairly common among people suffering with the symptoms of COPD. However, this is the first clinical trial to have looked into the relationship between insomnia and this pulmonary disease.
(Of those interviewed, 2.5 percent had reported being diagnosed with COPD)
Nocturnal Awakenings and Insomnia
Among those people who had reported having COPD, they were nearly twice as likely to also be experiencing the symptoms of insomnia compared to those who did not have chronic respiratory problems. Many of these people reported experiencing nocturnal awakenings and even another complication known as global sleep dissatisfaction.
On the other hand, the results of this COPD clinical study had more that needed to be reported. After Dr. Ohayon and his team adjusted for such things as sex, age, and weight, snoring and breathing pauses during sleep were not found to be significantly associated with COPD.
COPD Complications Linked to Lower Quality of Life
Among the subjects with COPD and sleep complications, only 11.8 percent reported their insomnia symptoms to their primary healthcare provider. According to Dr. Ohayon, this meant that their odds of being hospitalized were increased fourfold. Of course, people with COPD also reported that the psychiatric disorders and insomnia were linked to a lower quality of life.
In conclusion, this research has shown that COPD is a debilitating disease which has been associated with sleep complications in a significant number of reported cases. Dr. Ohayon added that comorbidity linked with the symptoms of insomnia accompanying COPD elevated healthcare utilization and also had a negative impact on the quality of life amongst these individuals.