Is the population properly informed about sleep disorders?

• Published in: Arquivos de neuro-psiquiatria 2013-02, Vol.71 (2), p.92-99
• Main Authors: Camargo, Eleida Pereira, Carvalho, Luciane Bizari Coin, Prado, Lucila Bizari Fernandes, Prado, Gilmar Fernandes
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Age Distribution; Bruxism - diagnosis; Bruxism - physiopathology; Child; Diagnostic Self Evaluation; distúrbios do sono; epidemiologia; Female; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Humans; Male; NEUROSCIENCES; PSYCHIATRY; saúde pública; Sex Distribution; Sleep Wake Disorders - diagnosis; Sleep Wake Disorders - physiopathology; Snoring - diagnosis; Snoring - physiopathology; síndrome da apneia obstrutiva do sono; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0004-282X; 1678-4227; 1678-4227
• DOI: 10.1590/S0004-282X2013005000001

To measure the prior knowledge about sleep disorders and patient's ability to report their problems adequately to health professionals. We analyzed 208 patient's records and extracted the following information: date of birth, gender, medical diagnostic hypotheses, patient's primary complaint in their words, considering the most appropriated semantic approximation to the perceptual phenomena, either by their own or by reasoning information from the partner. We compared the agreement (Kappa's test) between patient's complaint and medical diagnosis. The 95% confidence interval was used to analyze proportions. We found strong correlations for bruxism; moderate for snoring, insomnia, nightmares, somniloquy, and restless legs syndrome; fair for excessive movement during sleep (EMDS) and obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSA). The observed correlations were heterogeneous, but important diseases such as OSA and EMDS in children showed fair and weak correlations. This suggests an unsatisfactory knowledge level among the population about these disorders, despite their high prevalence and impact on patient's overall health.