title: Characterizing sleeping habits and disturbances among Saudi adults.
abstract: To characterize sleeping habits, assess sleep disturbance prevalence, and identify associated factors among Saudi adults.  Methods: A total of 1720 adults were approached for this observational cross-sectional study between October 2014 and March 2015. The study took place in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. We used a questionnaire to describe sleeping characteristics in relation to existing chronic diseases, smoking status, obesity, daily performance and sociodemographic variables. Results: The response rate was 79.6% (1369 participants), 61.6% have or may have sleeping disturbances of which 18.6% claimed either slowed or stopped breathing during sleep. Women reported a higher prevalence of sleep disturbances (65.2%). Feeling tired was significantly associated with sleep disturbance (49% versus 19.7%) (p greater than 0.001). Approximately 78.4% of those with sleep disturbance significantly believed that their ability to perform daily tasks is affected (p=0.005). Moreover, smoking and obesity were significantly associated with sleep disturbances (p less than 0.01). Participants with asthma, hypertension, chronic heart disease, and diabetes mellitus reported significantly more sleeping disturbance (p=0.016 to p=0.001). Conclusions: Sleep disturbances are associated with obesity, smoking, chronic health conditions, and lower performance among  Saudi adults.
authors.affiliation: Clinical and Translational Research Department, King Fahad Medical City, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. E-mail. maltannir@kfmc.med.sa.
authors.forename: Mohamad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Al-Tannir
authors.forename: Samer Y
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Kobrosly
authors.forename: Ahmad H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Al-Badr
authors.forename: Nourhan A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Salloum
authors.forename: Youssef M
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Altannir
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012529:Saudi Arabia; D012890:Sleep; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology*; D055815:Young Adult