TOPLINE

The prevalence of insomnia increased from 2018 to 2024 among adults in Central Catalonia, and more than half of patients with the condition received associated pharmacologic prescriptions in 2024. Patients with insomnia and polypharmacy had a higher likelihood of receiving pharmacologic treatment for insomnia.

METHODOLOGY

• Researchers conducted a retrospective observational study using primary care data from Central Catalonia, Spain, to assess the prevalence of insomnia, annual diagnosis rates, and prescribing trends from 2018 to 2024.
• The study included data of 20,312 adults with insomnia in 2018 (mean age, 68.3 years; 62.8% women) and 31,409 adults with insomnia in 2024 (mean age, 64.4 years; 61.7% women).
• Insomnia cases were identified using diagnostic codes that did not distinguish between acute and chronic insomnia.
• The analysis included sociodemographic variables (age and sex) and clinical variables (polypharmacy; mental health comorbidity; and pharmacologic prescriptions of anxiolytics, hypnotics, sedatives, antidepressants, and/or antipsychotics).

TAKEAWAY

• The prevalence of insomnia increased from 7.79% (95% CI, 7.69%-7.89%) in 2018 to 11.17% (95% CI, 11.05%-11.28%) in 2024, and the annual new diagnosis rate rose from 9.77 (95% CI, 9.39-10.15) to 16.17 (95% CI, 15.70-16.64) cases per 1000 people.
• The proportion of patients with insomnia receiving associated pharmacologic treatment rose from 47.90% in 2018 to 55.10% in 2024; anxiolytics were the most prescribed pharmacologic group from 2018 to 2024.
• In 2024, the prevalence of insomnia in patients with and without polypharmacy was 18.62% and 4.84%, respectively; those with insomnia and polypharmacy had higher odds of receiving pharmacologic treatment for insomnia (adjusted odds ratio, 1.77; 95% CI, 1.67-1.87).
• Mental health comorbidity was present in 59.5% of adults with insomnia in 2018, which increased to 66.8% in 2024, with an annual diagnosis rate of new insomnia of 10.28 and 25.95 cases per 1000 inhabitants per year in those without and with mental health diagnoses, respectively.

IN PRACTICE

"[The study] findings reinforce the need to develop innovative, scalable and accessible models of care, including digital CBT-I [cognitive-behavioural therapy for insomnia] programmes and multidisciplinary approaches, to improve access to first-line non-pharmacological treatment in PC [primary care]," the researchers wrote.

SOURCE

The study was led by Berta Bertrans Vilaró, Unitat de Suport a la Recerca de la Catalunya Central, Fundació Institut Universitari per a la recerca a l'Atenció Primària de Salut Jordi Gol i Gurina, Barcelona, Spain. It was published online on August 31, 2026, in Family Medicine and Community Health.

LIMITATIONS

The study relied on diagnostic codes that did not distinguish between acute/transient and chronic insomnia. Prevalence estimates by sex and rural or urban residence were not standardised for underlying age. As the indication for each medication prescription was not recorded, confirming whether a drug was prescribed for insomnia itself or for a mental health condition was not always possible.

DISCLOSURES

The authors did not declare any specific funding for this study or competing interests.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.