Sleep problems among immigrants

• Published in: European journal of public health 2019-11, Vol.29 (Supplement_4)
• Main Authors: Øien-Ødegaard, C, Straiton, M, Kjøllesdal, M K R
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Access; Drug abuse; Health problems; Help seeking behavior; Immigrants; Immigration; Insomnia; Living conditions; Medical personnel; Medicine; Mental disorders; Mental health; Mental health services; Noncitizens; Population; Population growth; Public health; Regression analysis; Risk analysis; Risk factors; Sleep; Sleep deprivation; Sleep disorders; Socioeconomic factors; Socioeconomic status; Socioeconomics; Substance abuse; Teachers; Unemployment; Women
• ISSN: 1101-1262; 1464-360X
• DOI: 10.1093/eurpub/ckz185.244

Abstract Background The prevalence of insomnia has increased from 11.9% to 15.5% between 2001 and 2011. At the same time, there has been a strong increase in immigration, and today immigrants constitute about 14% of the population. However, we do not know if these increases are related. There is limited information about immigrants’ mental health problems, and more specifically, their sleep problems. There is an established association between low socioeconomic status and higher chance of experiencing sleep problems, and we aim to investigate if this also is the case for immigrants in Norway, and whether being an immigrant is a risk factor. Methods Using the Living Conditions Survey for Immigrants 2016, we conducted logistic regression analyses to investigate associations between sleep problems and socioeconomic status among immigrant groups. We also preformed analyses comparing the results for immigrants as a whole and the majority population. Preliminary results The analysis indicates a strong relationship between socioeconomic status and sleep problems for immigrants and the majority alike, but also a strong moderating effect of being in the majority population. Women have higher odds of experiencing sleep problems than men, but the odds are much higher for immigrant women than for majority women. When taking origin country into the analysis, we see that only 3 of 12 countries have significantly different odds than the majority. Men from Iraq and Iran have particularly higher odds, while Eritrean women have lower. Conclusions Sleep problems are associated with other mental health problems, unemployment, substance abuse and increased mortality. Our finding, that immigrants have higher odds of sleep problems, is something medical professional and teachers should be aware of. Several barriers need to be addressed to increase the level of help seeking. This includes enhanced access of health information, and availability of mental health services. Key messages Immigrants have higher odds than the majority population for experiencing sleep problems, also when controlling for socioeconomic status. Immigrant women are particularly exposed to sleep problems, although there are considerable variations according to country of origin.