Insomnia is highly prevalent in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a new study shows. A group of 72 military veterans in Tucson with COPD were studied for a week. Researchers determined that 27 percent of them had insomnia. Smokers and those experiencing sadness and/or anxiety had higher odds.
Patients with insomnia had a worse quality of life and a higher incidence of daytime sleepiness. They slept for less hours and less efficiently. COPD patients who used oxygen, however, had a lower risk for developing insomnia. The study was published in the March edition of the journal SLEEP.
