Prevalence of insomnia symptoms and insomnia disorder within va subacute rehabilitation

Abstract Introduction Approximately 40% of Veterans report insomnia symptoms and 12% of Veterans have a formal insomnia disorder diagnosis. While these numbers reflect outpatient prevalence rates, there is little data on the prevalence of insomnia symptoms and insomnia disorder among the 32,000 Veterans receiving care within VA Community Living Centers (CLC) (rehabilitation and long-term care facilities) each year. The present analysis provides an initial step in understanding the prevalence of insomnia disorder vs. insomnia symptoms within a local VA CLC subacute rehabilitation unit. This analysis is part of a clinical innovation project that evaluated Veterans’ sleep during admission for the purposes of informing clinical interventions. Methods 67 Veterans were admitted to a VA subacute rehabilitation unit following hospital discharge between March and August 2022. Veterans were asked to complete a brief evaluation within 7 days of admission, including the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), Sleep Need Questionnaire (SNQ), and Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS). Sleep disorder diagnoses were obtained through chart reviews. Descriptive statistics were used to evaluate the prevalence of sleep disorders, insomnia severity, sleep need, and daytime sleepiness. Results 48 of 67 (71.6%) Veterans (Mage=72.8±12.0;97.9%male;79.2%white) completed evaluations within 7 days of admission. 52.1% of Veterans reported at least subthreshold insomnia (ISI≥8) with 22.9% reporting moderately severe clinical insomnia (ISI≥15). 50% reported not meeting their sleep need (SNQ≥13) and 33.3% reported at least mild levels of daytime sleepiness (ESS≥11). Chart reviews indicated only 25% of Veterans had a formal sleep disorder diagnosis in their chart and only 4.2% Veterans had a formal diagnosis of insomnia disorder. Conclusion The results of this preliminary analysis highlighted the discrepancy between national outpatient statistics and local inpatient statistics on the prevalence of insomnia symptoms and disorder. While the Veterans admitted to the CLC may be experiencing additional factors influencing their sleep (e.g., environmental disruptors), this does not wholly explain the discrepancy between the local and national ­samples. Future evaluations should include multiple VA sites to obtain a more representative sample of Veterans. Clinically, these findings suggest that insomnia disorder should be considered a standalone diagnosis and added to Veterans’ charts when clinically elevated symptomology is endorsed. Support (if any)