Sex differences in dreaming during short propofol sedation for upper gastrointestinal endoscopy

Abstract

Previous reports suggest that sex differences may exist in dreaming under anesthesia, but their results were inconclusive. The current study explored sex differences in the incidence and content of dreams during short propofol sedation for upper gastrointestinal endoscopy and investigated whether sex differences or dream content affect patient satisfaction with sedation. A total of 200 patients (100 men and 100 women) undergoing upper gastrointestinal endoscopy participated in this study. Patients were interviewed with the modified Brice questionnaire about the incidence and the content of dreams, and satisfaction with sedation was assessed. The results showed that the incidence of dreaming was significantly higher in men (31%) than in women (17%) (P=0.02), but recovery time was similar. In men, 45% (14/31) of dreamers reported positive emotional content and only 6% (2/31) reported negative emotional content. In contrast, in women, 18% (3/17) reported positive and 29% (5/17) reported negative content (P=0.04). Men reported dreams that were more vivid, meaningful, familiar, and memorable (P<0.01). No significant sex differences were observed in the emotional intensity of dreams, and emotional content did not influence patients' satisfaction. In sum, sex differences existed in dreaming during short propofol sedation despite similar recovery time and matching in terms of age. Men reported dreaming more frequently and had a higher incidence of recall for their dream narratives. In particular, men reported significantly more positive emotional content, less negative emotional content, and more meaningful content. Dreamer satisfaction with sedation was not influenced by sex or dream content.

Bispectral Index Monitoring and Observer Rating Scale Correlate with Dreaming during Propofol Anesthesia for Gastrointestinal Endoscopies

“…In research on 100 men and 100 women undergoing short propofol sedation for upper gastrointestinal endoscopy, Xu et al showed that men dream statistically more often than women. They also found out that men reported dreams that were more meaningful, familiar, vivid, and memorable, with a higher incidence of recall [12]. A study by Tezcan and colleagues on a smaller sample did not find a statistical difference, although men had a higher dreaming ratio [8], as observed in our study.…”

“…Patients who had dreams were more satisfied with their care than those who did not [11]. A study carried out by Xu and colleagues showed an incidence of dreaming of 24% and a statistically higher incidence of dreams in men than in women [12], while Tezcan et al reported an incidence of dreaming of 42%, with no sex differences [8]. All studies agree that dreams under propofol anesthesia have positive emotional content in most cases.…”

Incidence of dreaming and subjective quality of general anesthesia with and without standardized stress relaxation and dream suggestion by the anesthesiologist: A prospective interventional randomized trial using an adaptive design.

“…In this case, participant patients could have met and communicated about the study contents and this communication would have induced suggestion of dreaming in controls. This so called treatment diffusion effect has been described and avoided in the study of Gyulaházi before (Xu et al, 2013). Except a small difference in American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status, characteristics of patients were not different between the groups and there were no systematic differences in anesthesia and surgical procedures.…”

The relation between preoperative anxiety and awareness during anesthesia: an observational study

“…In the literature, the incidence of dreaming varies with factors such as age, sex, the anesthesia technique applied, drugs, the severity of anesthesia and the postoperative interview time, but the incidence has a wide range of 1−81%. 17 A study by Uting et al 18 reported that 7% of 500 patients had a bad dreaming experience and 2% remembered this experience. In our study, 10 (8%) patients had experienced dreams during previous operations, and these dreams did not have bad or unpleasant features.…”