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B. Bello1,2, U. Useh2
1Bayero University Kano, Physiotherapy, Kano, Nigeria, 2Northwest University, Lifestyle Disease Research Entity, Mafikeng, South Africa
Background: Sleep disorders (SD) in adolescents have remained a public health problem globally. The consequences of SD have been extensively studied in developed world. However, the extent of SD among adolescents in Africa is yet to be established.
Purpose: This study is aimed at reviewing literature on sleep disorders among adolescents in Africa with a view of understanding the extent of the disorder, the health implication(s) and economic burden of the disorder in the population.
Methods: Literature on sleep disorders among adolescents in Africa were searched in PubMed, EBSCOhost, Google Scholar, Web of Science, Scopus, Sabinet (African Journals) from inception to February 14, 2020. Search words used included; ‘insufficient sleep’, ‘sleep loss’, ‘sleep disorders’, ‘adolescents’, ‘youth’ aged between 12 – 17 years, and ‘Africa’. Out of a total of 15 eligible full-text studies, 5 were included in this study that met the full inclusion criteria.
Results: Only a few studies on sleep disorders among adolescents were carried out in Africa. All of the studies agreed there was a high prevalence of sleep disorders among adolescents in Africa. some factors associated with sleep disorders in Africa were the use of electronic gadgets at night, co-sleeping with other siblings, nightmares, etc. No study was carried out on intervention or treatment for sleep disorders. None of the studies explored the health consequences of the disorder among the population and there was no estimation of the economic burden of the disorder among the population.
Conclusion(s): There is a dearth of studies on adolescents sleep disorders in Africa with little or no information on the extent of insufficient sleep, its health implications, and the economic burden on the system. There is a need for more study in this area to help produce needed data for policymaking that will provide cheap, accessible, and available protocols to prevent and manage sleep disorders in Africa.
Implications: More studies are needed in this area to help produce empirical data for policymaking that will provide cheap, accessible, and available protocols to prevent and manage sleep disorders in Africa.
Funding, acknowledgements: No external funding
Keywords: Sleep disorders, Adolescents, Africa
Topic: Mental health
Did this work require ethics approval? No
Institution: Bayero University Kano
Committee: College of Health Sciences joint ethics committee
Reason: It is a narrative review
All authors, affiliations and abstracts have been published as submitted.
