Open Access
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Sleep Sci 2024; 17(S 01): S1-S89
DOI: 10.1055/s-0045-1811841
Sleep Science Supplement 2024

Insomnia and Risk of Cancer: a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Autoren

  • Francisco Cezar Aquino de Moraes

    1   Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém, PA, Brazil

  • Théo Jacovani Tozzo

    2   Universidade Anhembi Morumbi de Piracicaba, Piracicaba, SP, Brazil

  • Aminah Abrão Fauaz Ritter Lima

    2   Universidade Anhembi Morumbi de Piracicaba, Piracicaba, SP, Brazil

  • Arthur Michels Avancini

    3   Universidade Federal do Mato Grosso, Sinop, MT, Brazil

  • Francinny Alves Kelly

    4   Instituto Dante Pazzanese de Cardiologia, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
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Keywords

insomnia - cancer - risk of cancer

Introduction: Insomnia, marked by ongoing trouble with falling asleep or staying asleep, has been progressively associated with several health problems, including cancer. Studies suggest that long-term insomnia can interfere with the body's circadian rhythms and immune function, which might elevate the risk of developing cancer.

Objective: Insomnia can predict a high risk of cancer.

Methods: Cochrane, Embase and PubMed databases were searched for studies comparing people suffering from insomnia to non-insomnia people in the context of risk of cancer. A Random-effects model was employed to compute the Hazard Ratios (HR) with 95% Confidence Intervals (CI). Statistical Analyses were performed utilizing ReviewManager (RevMan) 5.4.1.

Results: A total of 7 studies were included, comprising 4,797,161 patients; 2,448,045 (51%) were males and 2,349,116 (49%) were females. The results indicated a higher risk of cancer in people suffering from insomnia (HR 1.17; 95% CI 1.02-1.35; p = 0.03; I2 = 92%). However, in the subgroup analysis with only Prospective Cohort, there was no statistical significance (HR 1.17; 95% CI 0.96-1.44; p = 0.13; I2 = 77%). There were no significant statistical differences in the sex analyses: male (HR 1.26; 95% CI 0.96-1.65; p = 0.09; I2 = 89%) and female (HR 1.15; 95% CI 1.00-1.31; p = 0.05; I2 = 91%).

Conclusion: In this meta-analysis of 7 studies, insomnia is directly associated with the risk of developing cancer. Thus, practicing sleep hygiene is crucial for overall health and wellness, which entails implementing habits that support regular, restful and rejuvenating sleep.


Die Autoren geben an, dass kein Interessenkonflikt besteht.

Publikationsverlauf

Artikel online veröffentlicht:
16. September 2025

© 2025. Brazilian Sleep Academy. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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