Changes in Sleep-Related Complaints from July/August 2001 to September/October 2001: Results from a Nationally Representative Sample of Patient Visits to Physicians' Offices, Hospital Outpatient and Emergency Departments in the US

Madhulika Gupta, MD, FRCPC

Medical Investigator
Mediprobe Research
London, Ontario

The terrorist attacks in New York City against the US on September 11, 2001(9/11) were catastrophic events; sleep-related complaints are often one of the first signs of psycholgical stress. We examined the frequency of sleep-related complaints presenting to medical facilities during the 2 months pre- 9/11 and for the immediate 2 months post- 9/11. We further examined regional differences in the frequency of sleep complaints. The data presented are from an epidemiologically representative sample of patient visits to doctors offices and hospitals during July to October 2001. To our knowledge there are no studies of such naturalistic data obtained pre- and post- 9/11, from a nationally representative sample. Pre- to Post- 9/11 there were significantly more patient visits with complaints of ‘Disturbance of Sleep’, suggesting a dsyregulation of sleep-wake patterns overall. Examination of regional differences however revealed a significant increase in all sleep-related complaints except nightmares.

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