Insomnia symptoms and the risk of all-cause mortality among stroke survivors

Abstract Background Insomnia is more frequently reported in stroke survivors but its independent role in mortality in stroke survivors is unknown. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association of insomnia symptoms with all-cause mortality among stroke survivors. Methods The Health and...

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Main Authors: Wendemi Sawadogo, Tilahun Adera, Maha Alattar, Robert Perera, James Burch
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2024-12-01
Series:BMC Public Health
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-20892-0
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author Wendemi Sawadogo
Tilahun Adera
Maha Alattar
Robert Perera
James Burch
author_facet Wendemi Sawadogo
Tilahun Adera
Maha Alattar
Robert Perera
James Burch
author_sort Wendemi Sawadogo
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Background Insomnia is more frequently reported in stroke survivors but its independent role in mortality in stroke survivors is unknown. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association of insomnia symptoms with all-cause mortality among stroke survivors. Methods The Health and Retirement Study, a survey of Americans older than 50 years and their spouses of any age from 2002 to 2018 was used. Only participants with a history of stroke were included. The exposure variable of interest was insomnia symptoms including difficulty initiating sleep, difficulty maintaining sleep, waking up too early, and nonrestorative sleep. The outcome was all-cause mortality. Cox proportional hazards regression models were employed to investigate the association between insomnia symptoms and all-cause mortality. Results A total of 3,501 stroke survivors were included of which 55% were females. Over a mean follow-up of 6 years, 1,782 deaths occurred. Difficulty initiating sleep (HR = 1.87, 95% CI: 1.07, 3.25) and difficulty maintaining sleep (1.89, 95% CI: 1.09, 3.29) were associated with all-cause mortality only among male stroke survivors younger than 65 years old while nonrestorative sleep (HR = 1.31, 95% CI: 1.05, 1.62) was associated with all-cause mortality only among male stroke survivors aged 65 years and older. Furthermore, male stroke survivors younger than 65 years of age and older than 65 with insomnia symptom scores ranging from 5 to 8 (mean = 6.2) had a higher but statistically nonsignificant risk of all-cause mortality (HR = 1.56, 95% CI: 0.81, 3.01 and HR = 1.08 95% CI: 0.85, 1.38, respectively) compared to their counterparts without insomnia symptoms. There was no association between insomnia symptoms and all-cause mortality among female stroke survivors. Conclusion Insomnia symptoms were associated with an increased risk of death especially in male stroke survivors younger than 65 years of age. Future studies should explore the benefit of insomnia symptom management in stroke survivors.
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spelling doaj-art-aa2d2ff6119d48a0b53c0d83d9691fad2025-08-20T02:30:56ZengBMCBMC Public Health1471-24582024-12-0124111010.1186/s12889-024-20892-0Insomnia symptoms and the risk of all-cause mortality among stroke survivorsWendemi Sawadogo0Tilahun Adera1Maha Alattar2Robert Perera3James Burch4Department of Public Health, College of Health and Human Services, Southern Connecticut State UniversityDepartment of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Virginia Commonwealth UniversityDivisions: Adult Neurology, Sleep Medicine, Vascular and Critical Care Neurology; Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth UniversityDepartment of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Virginia Commonwealth UniversityDepartment of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Virginia Commonwealth UniversityAbstract Background Insomnia is more frequently reported in stroke survivors but its independent role in mortality in stroke survivors is unknown. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association of insomnia symptoms with all-cause mortality among stroke survivors. Methods The Health and Retirement Study, a survey of Americans older than 50 years and their spouses of any age from 2002 to 2018 was used. Only participants with a history of stroke were included. The exposure variable of interest was insomnia symptoms including difficulty initiating sleep, difficulty maintaining sleep, waking up too early, and nonrestorative sleep. The outcome was all-cause mortality. Cox proportional hazards regression models were employed to investigate the association between insomnia symptoms and all-cause mortality. Results A total of 3,501 stroke survivors were included of which 55% were females. Over a mean follow-up of 6 years, 1,782 deaths occurred. Difficulty initiating sleep (HR = 1.87, 95% CI: 1.07, 3.25) and difficulty maintaining sleep (1.89, 95% CI: 1.09, 3.29) were associated with all-cause mortality only among male stroke survivors younger than 65 years old while nonrestorative sleep (HR = 1.31, 95% CI: 1.05, 1.62) was associated with all-cause mortality only among male stroke survivors aged 65 years and older. Furthermore, male stroke survivors younger than 65 years of age and older than 65 with insomnia symptom scores ranging from 5 to 8 (mean = 6.2) had a higher but statistically nonsignificant risk of all-cause mortality (HR = 1.56, 95% CI: 0.81, 3.01 and HR = 1.08 95% CI: 0.85, 1.38, respectively) compared to their counterparts without insomnia symptoms. There was no association between insomnia symptoms and all-cause mortality among female stroke survivors. Conclusion Insomnia symptoms were associated with an increased risk of death especially in male stroke survivors younger than 65 years of age. Future studies should explore the benefit of insomnia symptom management in stroke survivors.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-20892-0Stroke survivorsAll-cause mortalityInsomnia symptomsAge differenceSex difference
spellingShingle Wendemi Sawadogo
Tilahun Adera
Maha Alattar
Robert Perera
James Burch
Insomnia symptoms and the risk of all-cause mortality among stroke survivors
BMC Public Health
Stroke survivors
All-cause mortality
Insomnia symptoms
Age difference
Sex difference
title Insomnia symptoms and the risk of all-cause mortality among stroke survivors
title_full Insomnia symptoms and the risk of all-cause mortality among stroke survivors
title_fullStr Insomnia symptoms and the risk of all-cause mortality among stroke survivors
title_full_unstemmed Insomnia symptoms and the risk of all-cause mortality among stroke survivors
title_short Insomnia symptoms and the risk of all-cause mortality among stroke survivors
title_sort insomnia symptoms and the risk of all cause mortality among stroke survivors
topic Stroke survivors
All-cause mortality
Insomnia symptoms
Age difference
Sex difference
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-20892-0
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