Poor sleep quality and suicide attempt among adults with internet addiction: A nationwide community sample of Korea

Abstract

PurposeInternet addiction (IA) is defined as a psychological dependence on the internet, regardless of the type of activities once logged on, and previous studies have focused on adolescents and young adults. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between suicide attempts and sleep among community-dwelling adults with IA.MethodsThe Young’s Internet Addiction Test (IAT), the Korean version of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (K-CIDI) and a suicide questionnaire were used in this cross-sectional multistage, cluster sampling population-based study. A total of 3212 adults aged 18–64 years were interviewed face-to-face, and they had been randomly selected through a one-person-per-household method.ResultsOf the 3212 adults, 204 were assessed as having IA (6.35%). Adults with IA were younger, and more frequently male, unmarried, and unemployed, and had poorer sleep quality than adults without IA (32.8% vs. 19.8%), whereas there was no significant difference in the absolute duration of sleep between the two groups. Adults with IA showed more frequent difficulty initiating and maintaining sleep, non-restorative sleep, daytime functional impairment, and duration of sleep more than 10 hours on weekdays than adults without IA. IA with poor sleep quality was significantly associated with lifetime suicide attempts (AOR = 3.34, 95% CI 1.38–8.05) after adjusting for demographic covariates. Adults with IA who had more sleep problems showed more severe IA, especially those who experienced a previous suicidal attempt. Among mental disorders, IA with poor sleep quality was significantly associated with anxiety disorder and overall psychiatric disorders.ConclusionsAmong adults with IA, poor sleep quality was found to be associated with more severe IA and lifetime suicide attempt.

Anxiety, depression, attitudes, and internet addiction during the initial phase of the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) epidemic: A cross-sectional study in México

“…The negative impact of internet abuse on both sleep duration and sleep quality has been previously described in the literature. 38 For example, Kim et al 39 found that Korean subjects with internet addiction were 1.7 times more likely to experience poor sleep quality in comparison to those with normal internet use. Also, subjects who spent more time in the web have more (2.5 times higher) risk of developing depressive symptoms.…”

Internet Addiction among Secondary School Adolescents: A Mixed Methods Study

“…This association is in line with the findings reported in previous studies. 7,[12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19] One of the possible reasons for the associated psychological co-morbidities is the disrupted sleep-wake cycle and a higher rate of insomnia among heavy internet users. 19 In this study, the participants reported night time as the preferred time of internet use and some of them even used to spend the whole night online which substantiates the plausible association above.…”

Influence of internet addiction on executive function and learning attention in Taiwanese school-aged children

“…The prevalence of IA was estimated to be 9.8%–15.2% in the United States among people in their teens and 20s . IA not only encompasses psychological reliance, but also causes physiological disorders, such as musculoskeletal symptoms and sleep disturbance . Changes in autonomic nervous system functions were also reported in school‐aged children with IA …”