Prevalence and clinical characteristics of insomnia and its subtypes in the Korean elderly.

Background: Insomnia is known to be associated with psychiatric disorders, other sleep disorders and medical conditions, but the prevalence of insomnia diagnosis has never been estimated according to its subtypes. We studied the prevalence and clinical characteristics of insomnia diagnosis and its subtypes in the Korean elderly population.

Methods: Among 1423 sampled elderly individuals aged 60 years or older, 881 subjects participated in this study.

Symptom Severity of Restless Legs Syndrome Predicts Its Clinical Course.

Objective: This study examines the clinical course of restless legs syndrome according to its severity and factors associated with the remission of restless legs syndrome symptoms.

Methods: The remission or persistence of restless legs syndrome symptoms was investigated by considering patients with restless legs syndrome at the sleep clinic of Seoul National University Bundang Hospital. All subjects were observed for at least 18 months, and an incidence of remission was defined as having no restless legs syndrome symptoms for at least 1 year.

Subjective memory complaints in an elderly population with poor sleep quality.

Objectives: The association between sleep disturbances and cognitive decline in the elderly has been putative and controversial. We evaluated the relation between subjective sleep quality and cognitive function in the Korean elderly.

Method: Among 459 community-dwelling subjects, 352 subjects without depression or neurologic disorders (mean age 68.

Impacts of comorbidities on the association between arterial stiffness and obstructive sleep apnea in the elderly.

Background: Although the impact of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) on cardiovascular risk is reasonably well established in middle-aged patients, the debate persists as to whether OSA also increases this risk in the elderly. Arterial stiffness has been used as an early independent predictor of cardiovascular risk.

Study Objectives: We sought to determine whether OSA has significant effects on the arterial stiffness in the elderly population and evaluate the impact of comorbidities on the association between arterial stiffness and OSA.

The prevalence of and risk factors for sleep-disordered breathing in an elderly Korean population.

Background: There are just a few epidemiological studies on sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) in the elderly, and the results are inconsistent.

Study Objectives: We sought to investigate the prevalence of and risk factors for SDB in a representative elderly population with the use of attended nocturnal polysomnography (NPSG).

Methods: Among 6,959 individuals aged ≥ 60 years living in Yongin City, Korea, 696 subjects were selected using random sampling.