Background. Insomnia is a form of chronic sleep problem of public health importance which impacts the life of elderly people negatively. Methods. Cross-sectional study of 843 elderly patients aged 60 years and above who presented consecutively at Geriatric Centre, University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria. The World Health Organization Composite International Diagnostic Interview was used to diagnose insomnia. We assessed the following candidate variables which may be associated with insomnia such as socidemographic characteristics, morbidities, and lifestyle habits. Statistical analysis was done with SPSS 17. Results. The point prevalence of insomnia was 27.5%. Insomnia was significantly associated with being female, not being currently married, having formal education, living below the poverty line, and not being physically active. Health complaints of abdominal pain, generalized body pain, and persistent headaches were significantly associated with insomnia. Conclusion. The high prevalence of insomnia among elderly patients in this setting calls for concerted effort by healthcare workers to educate the elderly on lifestyle modification.
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