The Relationship Between Subjective Sleep Quality and Smoking in University Students

In a sample of 444 university students, the subjective quality of sleep was analyzed and compared between smokers and non-smokers. Nicotine dependence was assessed using the Fagerstrm Test for Nicotine Dependence and the subjective quality of sleep was measured using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Of the sample, 41.2% admitted to smoking daily. Poor sleep quality was reported by 45.7% of the sample (scores of > 5 on the PSQI). Smokers presented a risk of poor sleep quality that was greater than that of non-smokers with an Odds Ratio (OR) = 1.42 (95% CI [.990-2.074]). Smokers appear to have an increased risk of long sleep latencies with an OR = 1.50 (95% CI [1.018-2.213]). Moreover, smokers have a greater risk of showing high sleep disturbance with an OR = 2.45 (95% CI [1.391-4.304]). It is necessary to extend the studies that link sleep with cigarette smoking, and to explore the factors that modulate these causal relationships.