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. 2013 Jul 1;36(7):1041-1050.
doi: 10.5665/sleep.2806.

Nightmares: Prevalence among the Finnish General Adult Population and War Veterans during 1972-2007

Nils Sandman  1 , Katja Valli, Erkki Kronholm, Hanna M Ollila, Antti Revonsuo, Tiina Laatikainen, Tiina Paunio
Affiliations

Nightmares: Prevalence among the Finnish General Adult Population and War Veterans during 1972-2007

Nils Sandman et al. Sleep. .

Abstract

Study objectives: To investigate the prevalence of nightmares among the Finnish general adult population during 1972-2007 and the association between nightmare prevalence and symptoms of insomnia, depression, and anxiety in World War II veterans.

Design: Eight independent cross-sectional population surveys of the National FINRISK Study conducted in Finland in 1972, 1977, 1982, 1987, 1992, 1997, 2002, and 2007.

Setting: Epidemiologic.

Participants: A total of 69,813 people (33,811 men and 36,002 women) age 25-74 years.

Interventions: N/A.

Measurements and results: The investigation of nightmare prevalence and insomnia, depression, and anxiety symptoms was based on questionnaires completed by the participants. Among the whole sample, 3.5% of the men and 4.8% of the women reported frequent nightmares (P < 0.0001 for sex difference), but the prevalence was affected by the age of participants and the year of the survey. Nightmare prevalence increased with age, particularly among the men. The number of people reporting occasional nightmares increased roughly by 20% for both sexes from 1972 to 2007 (P < 0.0001). Participants with war experiences reported more frequent nightmares and symptoms of insomnia, depression, and anxiety than participants without such experiences (P < 0.0001).

Conclusions: Prevalence of nightmares was affected by the sex and age of the participants, and occasional nightmares have become more common in Finland. Exposure to war elevates nightmare prevalence as well as insomnia, depression, and anxiety symptoms even decades after the war; large numbers of war veterans can affect nightmare prevalence on population level.

Citation: Sandman N; Valli K; Kronholm E; Ollila HM; Revonsuo A; Laatikainen T; Paunio T. Nightmares: prevalence among the Finnish general adult population and war veterans during 1972-2007. SLEEP 2013;36(7):1041-1050.

Keywords: Adult; epidemiology; general population; nightmare; sex differences; veterans.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(A) Prevalence of frequent nightmares in different age groups in the general population (war generation excluded) over all study years (n = 58,598). (B) Prevalence of occasional nightmares in different age groups in the general population (war generation excluded) over all study years (n = 58,598). Note that the y-axis starts at 25% to make the graph more readable.
Figure 2
Figure 2
(A) Prevalence of frequent nightmares in the different study years. Solid lines represent the general population (war generation excluded) (n = 58,598) whereas dotted lines represent the whole sample (n = 69,813). (B) Prevalence of occasional nightmares in the different study years. Solid lines represent the general population (war generation excluded) (n = 58,598) and dotted lines represent the whole sample (n = 69,813).Note that the y-axis starts at 25% to make the graph more readable.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

  • Sleep. 36:969.

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