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Background and Objective The insomnia rate in cancer patients is nearly three times higher than that in the general population. Due to the distinct and diverse nature of cancer, the prevalence of insomnia is assumed to be affected by differences in primary cancer sites. In this study, we explored the prevalence rates of insomnia among the ten most prevalent cancers in South Korea using a national patient sample. Methods This was a 1-year cross-sectional study for the year 2011 using a national patient sample provided by the South Korean National Health Insurance. We selected all patients who had received International Classification of Disease, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes for the ten most prevalent cancers. To identify insomniacs, we included patients who had been diagnosed with ICD-10 codes or patients who had been prescribed with sleeping pills. The cancer and insomniac groups were subsequently merged and analyzed. Results Insomnia was most prevalent in lung cancer (15.2%), followed by non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (9.2%), bladder (8.8%), colorectal (8.6%), stomach (8.0%), prostate (7.8%), breast (7.8%), cervix (7.8%), and liver (6.6%) cancers, and was least prevalent in thyroid cancer patients (5.8%). Within all cancer groups, insomniacs were significantly older than non-insomniacs. Insomnia predominance was not found in female cancer patients, which is in contrast to that typically seen in the general female population. In subgroup analysis, the prevalence of insomnia differed by both age and sex. Conclusions The prevalence of insomnia varied according to cancer type. Patients with lung cancer were the most prone to insomnia. Since clinical and psychological factors may influence prevalence of insomnia, these factors will need closer study in the future.

Background and Objective Hospitalized patients often suffer from sleep disturbance. Impaired sleep for inpatients is a multifactorial phenomenon, comprised of medical, environmental, and behavioral influences imposed by hospitalization. In such situation, inpatients are frequently prescribed sleeping pills. The aim of this study was to explore the pattern of sleeping pill prescription for hospitalized patients in a general hospital. Methods Located in Seoul, Korea, Asan Medical Center is a general hospital that oversees about 2100 to 2300 inpatients per day. We estimated the proportion of patients who were prescribed sleeping pills at admission and discharge from the hospital, excluding pediatric care units. In addition, we quantified the number of patients taking prescribed sleeping pills on the first day of each month of 2014. Results Among 118475 patients admitted to Asan Medical Center in 2014, 4205 (3.54%) were taking sleeping pills at the time of admission. In addition, 4652 (3.93%) patients were prescribed sleeping pills as a discharge medication, of which 2256 (1.90%) initiated hypnotics intake during hospital stay. Surveyed on the first day of every month of 2014, 7.3% to 10.0% of inpatients were observed to be taking sleeping pills. Conclusions The number of prescriptions of sleeping pills was found to increase with hospital stay. A palpable need for sleep hygiene education and the implementation of a hypnotics reduction program for inpatients is warranted.