According to a study published Feb 1 in the European Respiratory Journal, insomnia increased the risks of adults developing asthma, Medpage Today reports.
Researchers found that adults with chronic symptoms of insomnia were more than three times as likely to receive a new diagnosis of asthma as those without sleep issues over 11 years of follow-up in a longitudinal, population-based study, according to Medpage Today.
Among participants with chronic insomnia, researchers found an odds ratio of 3.16 for new-onset asthma during follow-up (95% CI 1.37-6.40) compared with those reporting normal sleep.
“We found that having problems initiating sleep, experiencing waking up too early without being able to go back to sleep and non-restorative sleep were strongly associated with an increased risk of developing asthma,” the researchers wrote.
The analysis also suggested a dose-response relationship between the number of insomnia symptoms mentioned by survey participants and risk of developing asthma.
