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Gender-related sleep duration perception in a Brazilian sleep clinic cohort

  • Sleep Breathing Physiology and Disorders • Original Article
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Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to evaluate if gender influences the sleep duration perception in adults referred for polysomnography (PSG).

Methods

A cross-sectional study was undertaken from December 2019 to January 2021. Total sleep time was objectively assessed from the overnight PSG and subjectively estimated. The sleep perception index (SPI) was defined by the ratio of subjective and objective values. Diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) was based on an apnea–hypopnea index ≥ 5.0/h. Insomnia was defined by the presence of one or more specific complaints: difficulty falling asleep, difficulty maintaining sleep, and/or waking up earlier than desired. The association between continuous variables and SPI was assessed by linear regression analysis.

Results

This study enrolled 2,004 outpatients (56% men) who were grouped into four subsamples: controls (n = 139), insomnia (n = 154), OSA (n = 912), and insomnia comorbid with OSA [COMISA] (n = 799). In women, the median SPI differed among groups and ranged from 89 to 102% (p = 0.001); while in men, it ranged from 90% to 99% (p = 0.007). However, no gender-related SPI value differences emerged within each of the subgroups: controls (p = 0.907), insomnia (p = 0.830), OSA (p = 0.070), and COMISA (p = 0.547). The presence of insomnia (β, − 0.101, p < 0.001) or OSA (β, − 0.082, p = 0.001), but not gender (β, − 0.017, p = 0.612), were independent predictors of the SPI.

Conclusion

In a clinical referral cohort, no evidence of sex dimorphism emerged for SPI irrespective of the underlying sleep diagnosis.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. SleepLab - Laboratório de Estudo dos Distúrbios do Sono, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Ricardo L. M. Duarte & Flavio J. Magalhães-da-Silveira

  2. Instituto de Doenças do Tórax, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Ricardo L. M. Duarte

  3. Department of Child Health and Child Health Research Institute, University of Missouri School of Medicine, Columbia, MO, USA

    David Gozal

Authors
  1. Ricardo L. M. Duarte
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  2. Flavio J. Magalhães-da-Silveira
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  3. David Gozal
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Contributions

Study design, RLMD; data collection, RLMD; data analysis, RLMD; study supervision, FJMS and DG; manuscript writing, RLMD; and critical revisions for important intellectual content, FJMS and DG. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ricardo L. M. Duarte.

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Ethics approval and consent to participate

The study protocol was previously approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. Informed consent was obtained from all individuals included in the study.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no competing interests.

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Duarte, R.L.M., Magalhães-da-Silveira, F.J. & Gozal, D. Gender-related sleep duration perception in a Brazilian sleep clinic cohort. Sleep Breath 26, 641–647 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11325-021-02438-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11325-021-02438-5

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