Differences in Insomnia Symptoms between Immigrants and Non-Immigrants in Switzerland attributed to Emotional Distress: Analysis of the Swiss Health Survey

Abstract

Migration can be a stressful experience and may lead to poor health and behavioral changes. The immigrant population in Switzerland is disproportionately burdened by several negative health outcomes, chief among these is mental health issues. The aim of the study was to investigate whether sleep disturbances are more prevalent among immigrants compared to non-immigrants and whether emotional distress might explain sleep differences. Based on the Swiss Health Survey 2012 dataset, we analyzed the data of 17,968 people, of which 3406 respondents were immigrants. We examined variables including insomnia symptoms, emotional distress and clinical and socio-demographic data using unadjusted and adjusted generalized linear models. Compared to non-immigrants, immigrants suffer significantly more often from insomnia symptoms. Immigrants also endured higher levels of emotional distress. Higher values of emotional distress are related to other symptoms of sleep disorders. Immigrants with emotional distress were at significant risk of sleep disturbances. Sleep disparities between immigrants and non-immigrants may be influenced by emotional distress. Migration health care should address emotional distress, a more proximal and modifiable factor, as a possible cause of insomnia symptoms in immigrants.

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“…Finally, we explore the possibility of a moderating role of a migration background on the studied association. Having a migration background was recently associated with negative sleep outcomes (Schneeberger et al, 2019). Students with a migration background might suffer more in terms of sleep quality due to their smartphone use.…”

“…Finally, we explore the possibility of a moderating role of a migration background on the studied association. Having a migration background was recently associated with negative sleep outcomes (Schneeberger et al, 2019).…”

“…Finally, approximately half (49.9%) of the questionnaires were gathered in December 2017, the other half (50.1%) 1 year earlier. Because we expect students' sleep quality and sleep duration to be confounded by factors such as migratory background (Schneeberger et al, 2019), language spoken at home, academic motivation (Edens, 2006) as well as general time trends, it is necessary to control for these variables in our analyses.…”

The Role of Emotional Intelligence and Sociocultural Adjustment on Migrants’ Self-reported Mental Well-Being in Spain: A 14 Month Follow-Up Study

“…Nevertheless, simply analyzing cognitive or behavioral strengths neglects the role of emotional factors that can act as protective factors against mental health challenges. Schneeberger et al [18] reported data showing how the emotional distress suffered by immigrants had a negative effect on their insomnia in comparison to non-immigrants.…”

Chronic Severe Sleep Problems among Non-Nordic Immigrants. Data from a Population Postal Survey in Mid-Sweden

“…Based on data from the National Survey in Sweden 1996, Sundquist et al found that Bosnian refugee women on a group level had a much higher risk of undefined sleep difficulties than Swedish-born women, and Taloyan et al found that Kurdish men twice as often reported sleep difficulties, compared with the Swedish-born men [15,20,21]. A Swiss study found that the non-Western recent immigrants also, after many years of stay, reported more early awakening and trouble falling asleep, as compared with non-immigrants [22]. This finding was expected to be due to high levels of emotional distress.…”