WEDNESDAY, Feb. 8 (HealthDay News) -- Insomnia is common and chronic in adolescents, and girls are more likely to develop the condition after the onset of menstruation, according to a study published in the February issue of Pediatrics.
Eric O. Johnson, Ph.D., of Research Triangle Institute International in Research Triangle Park, N.C., and colleagues studied a random sample of 1,014 adolescents ages 13 to 16 from metropolitan Detroit.
Nearly 11 percent of the adolescents had insomnia and 11 years was the median age of onset. Of those with a history of insomnia, 88 percent reported current insomnia and 52.8 percent had a comorbid psychiatric disorder. The researchers also found that the onset of menses was associated with a 2.75-fold increased risk for insomnia in girls but that maturational development was not associated with insomnia in boys.
"Studies of the cause of insomnia should examine not only this emergent gender difference and the interconnections of insomnia, depression and pubertal development, but also factors that contribute to insomnia's significant prevalence in boys," the authors conclude. "Insomnia and sleep problems have been associated with poor daytime consequences and risk for psychiatric disorders. Given the substantial prevalence of insomnia found in this study...significantly greater scientific and policy attention to the problem of insomnia seems warranted."
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