Sleep and quality of life in the Austrian population

To compare the self-reported estimation of sleep quality evaluated by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and life quality assessed by the Quality of Life Index (QLI). Background - The PSQI comprised 19 questions and assessed a wide variety of factors relating to sleep quality. The QLI consisted of 10 items for self assessment of different dimensions of life quality. Subjects - A representative Austrian sample (n=1049) aged above 15 years. Procedure - Interviews in the homes of the participants. Results - 32.1% could be classified as poor sleepers (37% females, 26.5% males). Sleep quality decreased with increasing age, especially in women. Overall quality of life was highest in younger (15-29 years) and lowest in elderly subjects lover 50 years). Life quality decreased with increasing age. Between subjective sleep quality and quality of life a moderate, significant correlation was found (r(2) = 0.6721). Conclusions - Complaints about a bad quality of sleep could be used as a screening method in the exploration of patients' quality of life (QoL).