Prevalence of Insomnia among Patients with the Ten Most Common Cancers in South Korea: Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service-National Patient Sample

Background and ObjectiveaaThe insomnia rate in cancer patients is nearly three times higher than that in the general population. Due to the distinct and diverse nature of cancer, the prevalence of insomnia is assumed to be affected by differences in primary cancer sites. In this study, we explored the prevalence rates of insomnia among the ten most prevalent cancers in South Korea using a national patient sample. MethodsaaThis was a 1-year cross-sectional study for the year 2011 using a national patient sample provided by the South Korean National Health Insurance. We selected all patients who had received International Classification of Disease, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes for the ten most prevalent cancers. To identify insomniacs, we included patients who had been diagnosed with ICD-10 codes or patients who had been prescribed with sleeping pills. The cancer and insomniac groups were subsequently merged and analyzed. resultsaaInsomnia was most prevalent in lung cancer (15.2%), followed by non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (9.2%), bladder (8.8%), colorectal (8.6%), stomach (8.0%), prostate (7.8%), breast (7.8%), cervix (7.8%), and liver (6.6%) cancers, and was least prevalent in thyroid cancer patients (5.8%). Within all cancer groups, insomniacs were significantly older than non-insomniacs. Insomnia predominance was not found in female cancer patients, which is in contrast to that typically seen in the general female population. In subgroup analysis, the prevalence of insomnia differed by both age and sex. ConclusionsaaThe prevalence of insomnia varied according to cancer type. Patients with lung cancer were the most prone to insomnia. Since clinical and psychological factors may influence prevalence of insomnia, these factors will need closer study in the future.