RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Insomnia is more common among subjects living in damp buildings
JF Occupational and Environmental Medicine
JO Occup Environ Med
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd
SP 113
OP 118
DO 10.1136/oem.2003.011379
VO 62
IS 2
A1 C Janson
A1 D Norbäck
A1 E Omenaas
A1 T Gislason
A1 L Nyström
A1 R Jõgi
A1 E Lindberg
A1 M Gunnbjörnsdottir
A1 E Norrman
A1 T Wentzel-Larsen
A1 C Svanes
A1 E J Jensen
A1 K Torén
YR 2005
UL http://oem.bmj.com/content/62/2/113.abstract
AB Background: Insomnia is a condition with a high prevalence and a great impact on quality of life. Little is known about the relation between and sleep disturbances and the home environment. Aim: To analyse the association between insomnia and building dampness. Methods: In a cross-sectional, multicentre, population study, 16 190 subjects (mean age 40 years, 53% women) were studied from Reykjavik in Iceland, Bergen in Norway, Umeå, Uppsala, and Göteborg in Sweden, Aarhus in Denmark, and Tartu in Estonia. Symptoms related to insomnia were assessed by questionnaire. Results: Subjects living in houses with reported signs of building dampness (n = 2873) had a higher prevalence of insomnia (29.4 v 23.6%; crude odds ratio 1.35, 95% CI 1.23 to 1.48). The association between insomnia and different indicators of building dampness was strongest for floor dampness: “bubbles or discoloration on plastic floor covering or discoloration of parquet floor” (crude odds ratio 1.96, 95% CI 1.66 to 2.32). The associations remained significant after adjusting for possible confounders such as sex, age, smoking history, housing, body mass index, and respiratory diseases. There was no significant difference between the centres in the association between insomnia and building dampness. Conclusion: Insomnia is more common in subjects living in damp buildings. This indicates that avoiding dampness in building constructions and improving ventilation in homes may possibly have a positive effect on the quality of sleep.