Nocturnal micturition, sleep and well-being in women of ages 40-64 years

Objective: To study the relationship between sleep and nocturnal micturition in women 40-64 years old. Methods: A questionnaire study was carried out in 3669 (6000 invited) randomly selected women in the County of Jamtland in Sweden. Questions were asked about the general state of health, nocturnal micturition, sleep, menstruation and menopausal symptoms, and also about visits to doctors and the use of sleeping pills and hormone preparations. Results: The subjective evaluation of the general state of health and of a feeling of contentedness and of confidence in the future worsened with increasing numbers of nocturnal voiding episodes. Sleep was more strongly correlated to the number of nocturnal voiding episodes (R(2) = 0.099; P < 0.0001) than to age (R(2) = 0.021; P < 0.0001) or the menopause (R(2) = 0.017; P < 0.0001). Daytime sleepiness was three times more common among women with three or more nocturnal voiding episodes than among those with no nocturnal micturition. Women who voided three or more times in the night consulted a doctor twice as frequently as those without nocturnal micturition and were treated with drugs 2.5 times as often. The corresponding figures for sick-listing were 75 and 15 days per year, respectively. Conclusion: Frequent nocturnal micturition is common in 40-64-year-old women and impair sleep with subsequent decrease in daytime performance and general well-being.