02 Oct Half of Menopausal Women Report Getting Insufficient Quality Sleep
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Dr. Anjel Vahratian PhD MPH
Maternal and Child Health Epidemiologist
Branch Chief at the National Center For Health Statistics
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
MedicalResearch.com: Why did you conduct this study?
Response: Our research focuses on the health of women as they age and transition from the childbearing period. During this time, women may be at increased risk for chronic health conditions such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
As insufficient sleep is a modifiable behavior that is associated with these chronic health conditions, we wanted to examine how sleep duration and quality varies by menopausal status.
MedicalResearch.com: What finding in the study most surprised you?
Response: We were surprised to learn that nearly one in two women aged 40-59 did not wake up feeling well rested four times or more in the past week and that postmenopausal women aged 40-59 were more likely to experience disruptions in sleep quality compared with premenopausal women in the same age group.
MedicalResearch.com: What is the take-home message from this report?
Response: The real take-home message of this report is that sleep is critical for optimal health and wellbeing, and it is a modifiable risk factor for diabetes and cardiovascular disease. As sleep duration and quality vary by menopausal status, it is an area for targeted health promotion for women at midlife.
MedicalResearch.com: In addition to menopausal status, do you have any other lifestyle information that could impact women’s sleep quality for this age group; for example, shift work employment or having infants or very young children in the home?
Response: While this report did not specifically look at other lifestyle factors that could affect women’s sleep duration and quality – other than age and menopausal status — my colleagues released a report in January 2016 on sleep duration and quality by sex and family type. This report looked at the presence of young children in the household. In addition, we have produced estimates of sleep duration and quality across several sociodemographic characteristics such as race and ethnicity, education, poverty status, marital status, and region.
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Last Updated on October 2, 2017 by Marie Benz MD FAAD