Help-seeking behavior of young and middle-aged Austrians with chronic insomnia: Results from the 2017 national sleep survey

Abstract Chronic insomnia is highly prevalent and associates with poor physical and mental health, leading to high societal cost. Data on insomnia from Austria, including help-seeking behaviour, are currently lacking. In 2017 we conducted an online survey in Austrian adults aged between 18 and 67 years. Chronic insomnia was defined based on the 3rd edition of the diagnostic criteria of the International Classification of Sleep Disorders (ICSD-III) using an exact and a broad definition. Daytime functioning had to be affected “much” to “very much” for the exact (chronic insomnia) and “somewhat” for the broad (chronic insomnia symptoms) definition, respectively. We evaluated the distribution of sociodemographic characteristics, sleep problems overall and stratified by help-seeking behaviour. A total of 1004 participants (50.4% female, age 42 ± 13 years) completed the survey. In 8.9 % sleep problems were classified as chronic insomnia symptoms (broad definition) and in 7.8% as chronic insomnia (exact definition). Among participants with chronic insomnia symptoms and chronic insomnia, 26% and 53% respectively, reported active help-seeking behavior for their sleep problems. In conclusion, the prevalence of chronic insomnia appears comparable to that of other European countries with a higher proportion of people with chronic insomnia symptoms not fulfilling current diagnostic criteria. The low rates of active help-seeking behavior in both groups warrant more attention to public health initiatives regarding patient education and early treatment of insomnia.