Sleep quality of urban population in Republic of Moldova

Abstract

Introduction. For each person, sleep is an essential part of normal life rhythm and well-being. Spending roughly third part of life in this state, many people are underestimating its influence on body’s functioning, mood and sharpness of mind. Especially clearly, sleep problems can be observed among the urban population, affected by increasing rhythm of life and burden of constant stress. Sleep disturbances are directly linked to human errors, accidents, material losses and long-term effects on health. This study was designed to prove statistical significance of sleep-related pathologies among the urban population of Moldova and deficiency of its diagnostics and treatment. Aim of the study. To determine sleep quality of urban population in Republic of Moldova Materials and methods. The study consisted of an anonymous survey of urban citizens aged 18- 40 years old and included the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), a self-rated instrument that evaluates sleep habits for last month. It consists of seven “component” scores: subjective sleep quality, sleep duration, sleep latency, habitual sleep efficiency, use of sleeping medication, sleep disturbances and daytime dysfunction. The sum of scores for these seven components yields one global score. Results. Study was completed by 359 people. Prevalence of bad sleepers, characterized by PSQI score > 5, was reported by 181 respondents (50,2%). Medium PSQI score was 6,11. Medium score for women was 6,28 and 5,89 for men. 5,67 for married respondents and 6,26 for not married. Medium score for respondents, which’ve evaluated their income as “low” was 6,46, 5,97 for those who said “medium” and 4,33 for people who characterized their income as “high”. Conclusions. Every second person is experiencing problems with sleep, which is more significant, comparing it to data provided by other countries (30-40%). Also, it was confirmed that men experience less sleep problems than women, married couples sleep better than unmarried and that sleep quality increases with subjective satisfaction of financial status.