The Association Between Self-perceived Health and Sleep-Quality and Anxiety Among Newly Arrived Refugees in Sweden: A Quantitative Study

Abstract

Previous research findings suggest that insomnia could be related to decreased health status and that it could also be affected by traumatic life experiences, such as war. Good health is important for newly arrived refugees for an effective integration process. The aim of the present study is, therefore, to investigate the association between self-perceived health and sleep quality among newly arrived refugees in Sweden. The results are based on 681 migrants who participated in a survey between 2015 and 2016. There was a significant odds ratio (OR) after adjustment for confounders for newly arrived refugees that were experiencing bad self-perceived health to also experience bad sleep: OR 8.07 (4.34–15.00). Furthermore, the OR remained significant but lower after adjustments for confounders for newly arrived refugees that had bad self-perceived health to be suffering from anxiety during sleep, with OR 3.83 (2.11–6.94).