14 DAY TRIAL // Insomnia affects women 1.4 times more often than men, health officials said during a recent conference on the topic. This difference between genders has never been taken too seriously by researchers, the authorities added.
Most investigations are focused on the overall statistics, which indicate that long work hours, chronic or untreated sleep disorders, and shifts in work schedule cause about 20 percent of Americans to suffer from some form of insomnia, PsychCentral reports.
Insomnia is a risk factor for conditions such as cardiovascular disease, stroke, obesity, hypertension and even death, so the high incidence recorded in the general population could easily be interpreted as a public health issue.
“To support FDA approval of drugs for sleep disorders (and most disorders), data is required about potential gender differences in safety and efficacy,” argued Ronald Farkas, MD, PhD, who is a clinical team leader with the Division of Neurology Products at the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).