[Evaluation of extrinsic sleep disorders in a population in Valladolid]. / Evaluación de las perturbaciones extrínsecas del sueño en la población de Valladolid.

OBJECTIVES: To study the prevalence of external sleep disturbances and their influence in sleep quality. DESIGN: Transversal descriptive study based on personal self-applied interview and the application of the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) in 1053 persons selected among the over 18 year old population of the city of Valladolid between September 1997 and August 1998 in relation to different sociodemographics variables, life habits and psychiatric pathologies (anxiety and depression evaluated by Golberg Scale). RESULTS: Worsening of life quality and sleep efficiency was significantly associated to external disturbances such as coughing, going to the bathroom and nocturnal awakening and, less significantly, to pain sensation, having nightmares, dysthermic sensations and difficulty to breathing. Sleep external disturbances did not affect daytime activity but was associated to an increased hypnotic drug taking. INTERPRETATION: Sleep external disturbances are one of the most relevant and unknown variables associated to a decrease in sleep quality and, consequently, in life quality.

[The quality of sleep associated with polypharmacy]. / La calidad del sueño asociada a la polimedicación.

OBJECTIVE: Study of the association between multiple medication and the quality of sleep. DESIGN: Observational, cross-sectional study through two-stage sampling of 1053 people with a questionnaire and application of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Interview (PSQI). SETTING: Primary care. Population covered by health centres in the province of Valladolid. POPULATION: Adults over 18 who attended health centres in Valladolid province. RESULTS: As consumption of multiple drugs rose, there was significant deterioration in the overall quality of sleep and each of the following components: subjective quality, latency of sleep, duration of sleep, extrinsic disturbances and consumption of sleeping draughts. No differences were found for day-time repercussions. When psychiatric drug consumption was excluded from the study (to avoid the risk of bias in psychiatric illnesses), deterioration in the quality of sleep, on adding up the remaining therapeutic groups of drugs, was still found. CONCLUSIONS: The fact of consuming multiple drugs chronically may condition a deterioration in sleep quality, which will stimulate us to combat this symptom with more drugs and so further aggravate the problem. New prospective studies need to be undertaken to find out the reasons.