Prevalence of Insomnia in Menopausal Women

Abstract

Menopause represents a pivotal period in a women’s life, encompassing significant biological, psychological, and social transformations. The majority of women going through menopause commonly encounter the challenge of experiencing recurring and frequent insomnia.             Objective: To determine the prevalence of insomnia in menopausal women in Rawalpindi and Islamabad. Methods: Between November 2022 and June 2023, following the duration of 6 months, a descriptive cross-sectional investigation was undertaken, involving 267 menopausal women. The data were gathered from the general population of Rawalpindi/Islamabad, encompassing both housewives and hospital outpatients, utilizing a convenience sampling. Those individuals fulfilling the eligibility criteria underwent evaluation for insomnia employing the Athens Insomnia Scale. Data analysis were conducted utilizing SPSS version-25. Results: Out of 267 participants, 43.1% had insomnia when assessed by AIS-8. The mean age of the participants was 51.80 ± 7.197, onset of menopause was < 5 years by majority (70.8%) of the females with the most prevalent symptom of insomnia, "Final awakening earlier than desired" while the least common was "Impairment in functioning during the day" reported by menopausal women. Conclusions: Our study findings indicated that insomnia is prevalent among menopausal women, with the most common symptom being waking up earlier than desired. On the other hand, the least commonly reported symptom among menopausal women was impaired daytime functioning due to insomnia.