Abstract
Introduction: The Rosenberg self-esteem scale (RSES) is widely used to evaluate one's level of confidence in social sciences and medicine and is a parameter of one's level of quality of life. Chronic illness may have a negative effect on RSES. Sleep Disordered Breathing (SDB) and insomnia are chronic conditions that could influence patient's self-esteem.
Aims and objectives: To investigate if SDB and / or insomnia affect the RSES
Methods: Four hundred sixty subjects (115 women) referred for SDB from Jun13 to Dec14 tested with polysomnography and SDB evaluated using Apnea / Hypopnea Index (AHI). We screened for insomnia symptoms using the Athens insomnia scale (AIS), had the RSES completed and kept data for smoking habit and Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS). Correlation and regression analyses performed with IBM SPSS v22.
Results: There is negative correlation of medium magnitude between RSES and AIS (r = -0,36 p < 0,0005) with low levels of self-esteem associated with more insomnia symptoms and no significant correlation between RSES and AHI. Smoking habit, gender, age and ESS show significant correlations with RSES but of small strength, while Body Mass Index (BMI) has no significant effect. In a hierarchical multiple regression model, AIS keeps predicting 15,6% of RSES variability when controlled for the above-mentioned variables (R square = 0,156 beta = -0,282 p < 0,0005).
Conclusions: Among all variables stored in our sleep lab database, AIS has the strongest correlation with RSES, leaving behind other more or less obvious candidates, e.g. SDB, sleepiness, obesity, height, gender, smoking habit. We consider this a surprising result since we found no publications relating the RSES with insomnia.
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