Trends in nighttime insomnia symptoms in Canada from 2007 to 2021

Jean-Philippe Chaput; Charles M Morin; Rebecca Robillard; Colleen E Carney; Thien Thanh Dang-Vu; Judith R Davidson; Grant R Tomkinson; Justin J Lang; Canadian Sleep Research Consortium

doi:10.1016/j.sleep.2024.11.025

Trends in nighttime insomnia symptoms in Canada from 2007 to 2021

Sleep Med. 2024 Nov 15:125:21-26. doi: 10.1016/j.sleep.2024.11.025. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Jean-Philippe Chaput¹, Charles M Morin², Rebecca Robillard³, Colleen E Carney⁴, Thien Thanh Dang-Vu⁵, Judith R Davidson⁶, Grant R Tomkinson⁷, Justin J Lang⁸; Canadian Sleep Research Consortium

Affiliations

¹ Healthy Active Living and Obesity Research Group, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada; Department of Pediatrics, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada. Electronic address: jpchaput@cheo.on.ca.
² École de psychologie, Université Laval, Quebec City, QC, Canada.
³ The University of Ottawa Institute of Mental Health Research at The Royal, Ottawa, ON, Canada; School of Psychology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
⁴ Department of Psychology, Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, ON, Canada.
⁵ Institut Universitaire de Gériatrie de Montréal and CRIUGM, CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-de-l'Île-de-Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada; Center for Studies in Behavioral Neurobiology, Department of Health, Kinesiology and Applied Physiology, Concordia University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
⁶ Department of Psychology, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada.
⁷ Alliance for Research in Exercise, Nutrition and Activity (ARENA), University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia.
⁸ Healthy Active Living and Obesity Research Group, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada; Alliance for Research in Exercise, Nutrition and Activity (ARENA), University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia; Centre for Surveillance and Applied Research, Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada; School of Epidemiology and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.

PMID: 39556998
DOI: 10.1016/j.sleep.2024.11.025

Abstract

Objective: National estimates and trends in insomnia symptoms in Canada are outdated. Updates are needed to inform the development of targeted prevention and intervention strategies. This study aimed to examine the prevalence and trends in nighttime insomnia symptoms among Canadians aged 12 years and older between 2007 and 2021.

Methods: The Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS), a nationally representative, repeated cross-sectional survey was used. Nighttime insomnia symptoms were self-reported and defined as trouble going to sleep or staying asleep most or all of the time.

Results: This study included data from 197,469 participants. Nighttime insomnia symptoms in Canadians have remained relatively stable from 2007 to 2021, with higher prevalence in adults (18-20 %), particularly women (19-24 %), and those with a medium level of education defined as secondary school graduation (16-21 %). However, nighttime insomnia symptoms became 1.24-fold more prevalent from 2007 to 2021 among women aged 18-64 years (19.3 % vs. 24.0 %) and 1.33-fold more prevalent among those with a medium level of education (15.9 % vs. 21.2 %). Nighttime insomnia symptoms were roughly two times more prevalent in individuals with poorer self-perceived general health, mental health, and life satisfaction compared to those with better self-perception. The prevalence of nighttime insomnia symptoms among those with poor general health increased 1.18-fold from 23.8 % in 2007 to 28.1 % in 2021.

Conclusions: Over this 14-year period, nighttime insomnia symptoms have remained consistently high in Canada, but have increasingly affected certain subgroups. Targeted efforts are needed to address this issue in the most affected segments of the population.

Keywords: Insomnia; Population health; Prevalence; Sleep; Surveillance; Trends.