Use of medicine and alcohol to enhance sleep among Japanese adults and the elderly living in Sapporo city, Hokkaido

This study assessed the gender specific association of the use of medicine and alcohol to enhance sleep (UMAES) with many factors. Data from a cross-sectional survey that was conducted among Japanese people aged between 20 and 79 years was used. People in this survey were selected randomly from the resident registry of Sapporo city during July and August 2000. Each subject was requested to complete a self-administered mailed questionnaire that included questions on sociodemographics, perceived health status, stress, eating habits, daily sleeping hours, and smoking including UMAES. The response rate was 47.1%. This study analyzed a total of 4252 participants (men = 1814, women = 2438) who provided complete information. The prevalence of UMAES was found to be 17.0% among men and 11.9% among women. For both genders, logistic regression analysis — adjusted for age, occupation and body mass index — indicated that UMAES was significantly associated with perceived poor health, highly irregular eating habits, short daily sleeping hours, severe stress, everyday smoking, smoking 30+ cigarettes daily, and beginning smoking at a younger age (<15 years). All these variables maintained independent significant associations with UMAES, even with multivariate logistic regression analysis. Based on these findings, it may be concluded that the prevalence of UMAES is fairly common among the Japanese adult and elderly. UMAES may also be considered as an indicator of many negative health behaviors. However, further studies are recommended to validate the present findings and to find some strategies for reducing the negative consequences of UMAES.