Geschlechtsspezifische Aspekte in der Schlafmedizin

Sleep medicine covers a wide range of topics and sex-specific differences in sleep medicine can be identified in many areas. Sleep quality and sleep behavior form an indispensable basis for numerous physiological processes and are a prerequisite for healthy development and performance. There are measurable differences between men and women throughout the lifespan that can have an impact on health. With the onset of puberty the risk of suffering from an insomnia disorder increases for women and throughout life there is a subjectively reduced quality of sleep compared to men. The prevalence of sleep-related movement disorders (e.g., restless legs syndrome) is also higher than in men and even more than 20% of women suffer from this during pregnancy. Last but not least, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) must be reassessed as the most common sleep-related breathing disorder with an increasing prevalence worldwide. For many years, OSA was regarded as the classical disease of overweight snoring men. Now the image of this disorder is changing and is also providing a scientific examination of sex-specific differences. For example, on average women show fewer and milder respiratory events but there is still a high risk of comorbidities. Obstructive breathing is manifested differently than in men and is more difficult to detect by outpatient polygraphy. In addition, the clinical symptoms differ so that standardized medical histories and questionnaires are inadequate. Despite the increasing prevalence of OSA, women are currently underdiagnosed and underrepresented in sleep laboratories and unfortunately often undertreated. There is an urgent need for further scientific work in these fields but even more important: the implementation of science in everyday clinical practice.