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US Veterans Are Vulnerable to Sleep Disorders

Sleep; ePub 2016 Jul 1; Alexander, Ray, et al

Publish date:: July 26, 2016

There is a growing need for integration of sleep disorder management with patient care and health care planning among US veterans, according to a recent study. Researchers conducted a cross-sectional study that characterized secular trends in diagnosed sleep disorders among veterans seeking care in US Veterans Health Administration facilities over an 11-year span (n=9,786,778). They found:

• Sleep apnea (47%) and insomnia (26%) were the most common diagnoses among patients with any sleep disorder.

• There was a 6-fold relative increase in total sleep disorder prevalence over the study period.

• Posttraumatic stress disorder, which tripled over the same time period, was associated with the highest prevalence of sleep disorders (16%) among the comorbid conditions evaluated.

Citation: Alexander MJ, Ray MA, Hébert JR, et al. The National Veteran Sleep Disorder Study: Descriptive epidemiology and secular trends, 2000-2010. [Published online ahead of print July 1, 2016]. Sleep. doi:10.5665/sleep.5972.

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