Effects of sleep disturbance on the quality of life of Turkish menopausal women: a population-based study.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate sleep disturbances among menopausal women: their prevalence, risk factors for them and the quality of life of women who have them.

Design: A population-based sample of 887 Turkish women aged 45-59 years and living in Malatya was recruited in this cross-sectional descriptive study. The women were administered the Interview Form, which covers sociodemographic, health and lifestyle variables, as well as the Women's Health Initiative Insomnia Rating Scale, the Menopause Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire and the Beck Depression Inventory.

Results: The prevalence of sleep disturbance in this sample of menopausal women was 54%. Logistic regression models revealed that the risk of sleep disturbance was 2.4 times higher in the perimenopausal than in the premenopausal period, 1.7 times higher among those who received hormone therapy than among those who did not, 1.5 times higher among those with a physical disease than among those without, and 3.9 times higher among those with depression than among those without; an increase of one year in age was associated with a 5% increase in the prevalence of sleep disturbance. Average scores on the vasomotor, psychosocial, physical and sexual sub-scales of the Menopause Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire were significantly higher for women with sleep disturbance than for those without (P<0.001).

Conclusions: The prevalence of sleep disturbance was found to be high among menopausal women. Initiatives aimed at reducing sleep disturbance should be added to menopausal care programmes in order to improve the quality of life of menopausal women.