Insomnia in chronic renal patients on dialysis in Saudi Arabia

This was an observational cross-sectional study carried out over a period of five months in two hemodialysis centers in Saudi Arabia. To assess the prevalence of insomnia, we used the ICSD-2 definition. We also examined the association between insomnia and other sleep disorders, the underlying causes of renal failure, dialysis duration, dialysis shift, and other demographic data.Out of 227 enrolled patients, insomnia was reported by 60.8%. The mean patient age was 55.7 ± 17.2 years; 53.7% were male and 46.3% were female. Insomnia was significantly associated with female gender, afternoon hemodialysis, Restless Legs Syndrome, high risk for obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome and excessive daytime sleepiness (P-values: 0.05, 0.01, < 0.0001, < 0.0001, and < 0.0001, respectively). No significant association was found between insomnia and other variables, including BMI, smoking habits, underlying etiology of renal failure, dialysis duration, association with hemoglobin, ferritin, and phosphorus or dialysis adequacy as measured by the Kt/V index.Insomnia is common in dialysis patients and was significantly associated with other sleep disorders. Greater attention needs to be given to the care of dialysis patients with regard to the diagnosis and management of insomnia and associated sleep disorders.End-stage chronic renal disease (ESRD) is a significant problem in Saudi Arabia. In 1986, the prevalence of ESRD was 139 per million people[1]. The number of patients receiving hemodialysis therapy in Saudi Arabia has increased by approximately 10- to 15-fold since 1983, with an estimated annual increase of approximately 8.6% [2,3].Insomnia is characterized by one or more of the following symptoms: difficulty falling asleep ("sleep onset insomnia"), difficulty staying asleep ("sleep maintenance insomnia"), early awakening or poor sleep quality ("non-restorative sleep") [4,5]. Insomnia is primarily a clinical diagnosis and is most frequently diagnosed using data obtained from patien