Factors associated with sleep problems and sleeping pill use in Brazilians

To estimate the prevalence of sleep problems and sleeping pill use and associated factors in the Brazilian population.

This study was conducted with data from the 2019 Brazilian National Health Survey. Our sample consisted of 94,114 participants and the outcomes analyzed were sleep problems and sleeping pill use. Sociodemographic, lifestyle, and health characteristics were explored in a descriptive and multivariate analysis with Poisson regression, robust variance, and 5% significance.

We found a 35.1% (95%CI: 34.5-35.7) and 8.5% (95%CI: 8.2-8.9) prevalence of sleep problems and sleeping pill use, respectively. Sleep problems were associated with women (PR = 1.41; 95%CI: 1.36-1.46), individuals who self-assess their health as regular/poor/very poor (PR = 1.56; 95%CI: 1.51-1.62), those with chronic diseases (PR = 1.70; 95%CI: 1.64-1.78), those who use alcohol excessively (PR = 1.14; 95%CI: 1.09-1.20), and smokers (PR = 1.16; 95%CI: 1.10-1.22). Sleeping pill use was associated with women (PR = 1.57; 95%CI: 1.43-1.73), divorcees (PR = 1.46; 95%CI: 1.30-1.65), urban denizens (PR = 1.32; 95%CI: 1.21-1.45) those who self-assess their health as regular/poor/very poor (PR = 1.79; 95%CI: 1.64-1.95), those with chronic diseases (PR = 4.07; 95%CI: 3.48-4.77), and smokers (PR = 1.49; IC95%: 1.33-1.67).

This study found that the prevalence of sleep problems and sleeping pill use in Brazilians indicates the need for attention and sleep care for this population, especially in women and those with lifestyle and health conditions associated with the analyzed outcomes.