[Ethnic features of sleep disorders in climacteric women]

To evaluate the features of sleep disorders in Caucasian and Asian menopausal women.

Five hundreds and forty-two menopausal women, aged 45 to 60 years, were divided into Caucasians (Russians (n=342)) and Asians (Buryats (n=200)). All women were examined by an obstetrician-gynecologist. Also, a general clinical examination and an analysis of medical documentation were conducted. Diagnoses of insomnia and obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) were made according to the results of specialized somnological questionnaires and polysomnographic monitoring.

The frequency of sleep disorders in Caucasian women in perimenopause was 61.2%, in postmenopause 65.5%; in Asian women it was 63.5% in perimenopause, 72.9% in postmenopause. Difficulties in falling asleep (69.4%) and difficulties in morning awakenings (63.5%) were found in perimenopausal Caucasian women and frequent nightly awakenings (83.5%) and OSAS (48.9%) were found in postmenopausal ones. There were no differences in the structure of sleep disorders depending on the menopause phase in Asian women. The most common complaints were frequent nighttime awakenings (69.5% in perimenopause, 76.9% in postmenopause). Ethnic differences in the sleep complaints were found only in the perimenopause. The decrease in sleep efficacy and changes in the rapid eye movement sleep were found in Asian women as compared to Caucasians. Moreover, apnea-hypopnea index was higher and oxygen saturation was lower in Asian women compared to Caucasians.

The formation of sleep disorders in menopausal women has ethnogenetic features.