Comparative studies on sleep disturbance in the elderly based on questionnaire assessments in 1983 and 1996.

We made an attempt to compare the complaints about sleep disturbance in the elderly based on the questionnaires using self-rating scales carried out in 1983 and 1996. It was noted that the score of awakening frequency from the course of sleep was the highest of all the items in men and women in both the 1983 and 1996 inquiries. The scores of insomnia nights per week and the difficulty in falling asleep were slightly higher in women than in men in both inquiries.