The risk of cancer among patients with sleep disturbance: a nationwide retrospective study in Taiwan

Abstract

Purpose: To investigate the risk of cancer among patients with nonapnea sleep disorders (SDs).

Methods: We included newly diagnosed SD patients aged 20 years and older without antecedent cancer between 2000 and 2010 from the National Health Insurance Research Database. Standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) of cancers were calculated to compare the cancer incidence of patients with SD with that of the general population.

Results: During the 10-year study period, 2062 cancers developed among 63,381 SD patients, who were observed for 382,826 person-years (median follow-up of 6.23 years). The SIR for all cancers was 1.19 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.14e1.24). For specific cancer types, SD patients exhibited an increased SIR for liver and lung cancers (1.44; 95% CI, 1.28e1.61 and 1.34; 95% CI, 1.18e1.51, respectively).

Conclusions: We observed that overall cancer risk is increased among Asian SD patients. In terms of individual cancers, the risks of liver and lung cancers were elevated. Clinicians should be aware of the possibility of increased liver and lung cancers among SD patients in Taiwan. A prospective study is necessary to confirm these findings.