Sleep disturbances, nightmares and other possible central nervous disturbances in a population sample of women, with special reference to those on antihypertensive drugs.

Of 1302 women aged 44-66 years in a population study in Göteborg, Sweden, in 1974-75, who were representative of women of all the ages studied in the area, 165 were taking antihypertensive drugs, mostly beta-blockers and diuretics. The prevalence of sleep disturbances, nightmares, tiredness and melancholia or depression was studied in the total population sample, and a comparison was made between women who were or were not taking antihypertensive drugs. In the entire population sample no significant difference was found between the various age strata studied, although with increasing age there was a trend towards fewer complaints of nightmares, but a larger number of sleep disturbances as a whole. No difference was found between women taking or not taking various types of single-drug therapy or combinations of antihypertensive drugs.