Abstract

Menopausal women have a higher prevalence of insomnia. Despite the vast literature, several aspects are still controversial or have not been sufficiently studied. Sectional analyses were conducted among menopaused employees (n=486), participating in a longitudinal study (the Pró-Saúde Study). Data on insomnia complaints (IC), menopause characteristics, self-report of physical morbidity medical diagnosis, common mental disorders (CMD), social support and stressful life events (SLE) were collected. Insomnia complaints were analysed as polytomic outcome (frequent, occasional and absent), and crude and adjusted ORs were calculated by multinomial logistic regression. Prevalences of frequent and occasional IC among women in menopause were 25.7% and 32.7%, respectively. Menopause characteristics were not associated with IC. Presence of CMD (GHQ-12) was strongly associated with frequent IC [OR=6.14 (95% CI 3.24 to 11.65)]. For occasional IC, values were lower [OR=2.98 (95% CI 1.59 to 5.57)], but still significant. All social support dimensions were associated with occasional IC, after adjustment, except for the intermediate tercile of total social support. The social support dimension associated with frequent IC after adjustment was “to have low total social support” [OR=2.46 (95% CI 1.33 to 4.56)], “to have low emotional support/information” [OR=2.31 (CI 95% 1.27 to 4.19)], and “to have low affective support/positive social interaction” [OR=2.21 (CI 95% 1.22 to 4.02)]. Our results warn of an important association among insomnia complaints and CMD and social support. These psychosocial factors can contribute to the onset of primary insomnia, a symptom that in general is not taken into consideration when the patient seeks for medical help.