Prevalence of sleep complaints in Colombia at different altitudes

Study objectives To determine the prevalence of sleep complaints in adults in Colombia at different altitudes. Design Cross-sectional, population-based and observational study. Setting Urban areas in three cities (Bogotá, Bucaramanga, Santa Marta) located between 15 and 2640 masl. Subjects Over 18 years old. Interventions Epworth sleepiness scale (ESS), Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI), Berlin questionnaire, STOP-Bang questionnaire and diagnostic criteria for restless leg syndrome (IRLSSG). Measurements and results The overall prevalence of sleep complaints was 59.6% (CI 95%: 57.3; 61.8%). According to the Pittsburgh scale, 45.3% (CI 95%: 43.0; 47.5) required medical assistance. The Berlin questionnaire indicated that 19.0% (CI 95%: 17.3; 20.8%) had a high risk of sleep apnea (OSA) compared to 26.9% (CI 95%: 24.9; 29.0%) according to STOP-Bang. Among the subjects, 13.7% (CI 95%: 12.3; 15.3%) had excessive daytime sleepiness and 37.7% (CI 95%: 35.5; 39.8%) had a restless leg syndrome. When comparing cities, significant differences in the overall frequency of subjects requiring care were found between Santa Marta (higher frequency) and the other two cities. Differences in sleep problem frequency (Pittsburgh) were observed between Bogota (higher frequency) and Bucaramanga and also between Santa Marta (higher frequency) and the other two cities. The high risk of OSA (STOP-Bang) was different between Bogota (higher frequency) and Bucaramanga and also between Santa Marta (high frequency) and Bucaramanga. Conclusions We observed a high prevalence of sleep complaints with significant differences among the cities, indicating a need to pay a greater attention to these problems.