How Do Sleep-Related Health Problems Affect Functional Status According to Sex?
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Study objectives To measure differences in functional status between men and women presenting with sleep-related health problems. Methods A retrospective clinical audit of 744 Australian patients across 7 private general practices between April 2013 and January 2015 was conducted. Patients completed an electronic survey as part of their routine consultation, which included the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), the Functional Outcomes of Sleep Questionnaire 10 (FOSQ-10), and other questions relating to the effect of their sleep problem. The proportion of males and females with ESS and FOSQ-10 scores associated with disorders of daytime sleepiness and burden of symptoms due to sleepiness, respectively, were compared, as well as reported differences between the sexes in memory, concentration, issues with relationships, feeling depressed, and trouble sleeping. Results On presentation, females were more likely to have sleeping disorders associated with daytime sleepiness (median ESS score of 9 for females versus 8 for males, P = .038; proportion ESS > 9 was 49.0% for females versus 36.9% for males, P = .003). Women were also more likely to report an increased burden of symptoms due to sleepiness compared to men, as shown by lower FOSQ-10 scores (P < .001). Secondary outcome measures showed that females were more likely to feel excessively tired and depressed, have difficulties with memory and concentration, and have trouble sleeping at night. Snoring kept partners awake in roughly the same proportion of males and females, and a larger proportion of the partners of males were forced out of the room. Conclusions Sleep-related health issues both manifest in and affect the lives of males and females differently. Sleep health professionals should recognize these differences on all levels of disease prevention and health promotion from patient education, to diagnosis and management to improve quality of life for those with sleep-related health problems.
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While women normally have longer and better sleep, they also report a higher incidence of sleep disorders.
“Interestingly, while women normally have longer and better sleep, they also report a higher incidence of sleep disorders.99–102”
From Effects of Traumatic Brain Injury on the Orexin/Hypocretin System (2025) · cites this paper as [99]
The Sleeping at Night section reports that 47.8% of female patients presenting with sleep-related problems often had trouble sleeping, compared with 26.7% of male patients. This supports a sex difference in reported symptoms within the clinical sample, but the paper does not establish a higher incidence of sleep disorders among women generally or say that women normally have longer and better sleep. (LLM, conf=0.87)
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- Authors
- Boccabella, A., & Malouf, J.
- Corresponding author
- Boccabella, Allegra
- ORCID
- Boccabella, Allegra
- Venue
- Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine
- Published
- 2017-05-15
- Volume
- 13
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 685-692
- ISSN
- 1550-9389 (ISSN-L)
- 1550-9397
- PMC
- PMC5406962
- OpenAlex
- W2612386775
- Cited by
- 43
- References
- 1
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 2
- FWCI
- 4.99
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Sleep and related disorders
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Obstructive Sleep Apnea Research
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Sleep and Work-Related Fatigue
- Keywords
- sex differences, functional status, daytime sleepiness, Epworth Sleepiness Scale, symptom burden, depression, memory and concentration, snoring, relationship disruption, general practice patients, quality of life
- MeSH terms
- Activities of Daily Living, Australia, Depression, Female, Humans, Interpersonal Relations, Male, Memory, Middle Aged, Quality of Life, Surveys and Questionnaires, Retrospective Studies, Sex Factors, Sleep Wake Disorders, Cost of Illness
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