Prevalence and Associated Factors of Insomnia among Elderly People of Nepalgunj Sub-Metropolitan City, Nepal

Insomnia is a prevalent sleep-related complaint among older persons, regardless of whether it is reported as subjective symptoms or diagnosed as a sleep disorder by accepted diagnostic methods. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of insomnia in the elderly, and the contributing factors to insomnia and their influence on the elderly people. A descriptive, cross-sectional research design was adopted, with a sample of 207 elderly people drawn from the Nepalgunj Sub-metropolitan City. Binary multiple logistic regression model was used to assess the factors contributing to insomnia in old aged people. The prevalence of insomnia found in the elderly was 52.3%. Among the different factors, females (OR: 3.21, 95% CI: 1.51 to 6.83), currently not working (OR: 4.25, 95% CI: 1.94 to 9.21), staying with spouse (OR: 3.26, 95% CI: 1.56 to 6.82), using sleeping pills (OR: 2.58, 95% CI:1.08 to 6.18), having chronic disease (OR: 2.67, 95% CI: 1.15 to 6.19), and physically inactive (OR: 7.93, 95% CI: 1.85 to 33.95) had significant association with insomnia. It can be inferred that more than half of the elderly people were suffering from insomnia. Females were 3.21 times more vulnerable to have insomnia as compared to males.