title: Can social factors explain sex differences in insomnia? Findings from a national survey in Taiwan.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine sociological explanations for the higher level of insomnia in women, including social roles and socioeconomic status (SES).
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross sectional survey research
  
  
  METHODS
  Taiwanese 2001 "social trend survey"
  
  
  METHODS
  A nationally representative sample of 39,588 citizens aged 15 years or older living in Taiwan.
  
  
  RESULTS
  On average, women scored 1.25 points higher than men on the insomnia inventory (p<0.001) but after controlling for social roles, the sex discrepancy in insomnia decreased slightly. SES did not, however, explain women's higher levels of insomnia. Subscale analysis showed an association between the role of homemaker and increased night time sleep disturbance and decreased daytime sequelae of poor sleep while higher educational attainment was related only to more severe daytime sequelae.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The sex discrepancy in insomnia narrowed slightly after taking social role factors into consideration but was not explained by SES. The persistent sex gap in insomnia warrants further investigation.
authors.affiliation: Taipei City Psychiatric Centre, Xinyi District, Taipei City, Taiwan. ychen@hsph.harvard.edu
authors.forename: Ying-Yeh
authors.initials: YY
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Ichiro
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kawachi
authors.forename: S V
authors.initials: SV
authors.lastname: Subramanian
authors.forename: Dolores
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Acevedo-Garcia
authors.forename: Yue-Joe
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015992:Body Mass Index; D004522:Educational Status; D004651:Employment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D005260:Female; D005783:Gender Identity; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012737:Sex Factors; D007319:Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D012923:Social Class; D012931:Social Environment; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013624:Taiwan / Q000453:epidemiology