Prevalence of insomnia among university students in South Asian Region: a systematic review of studies

INTRODUCTION: Insomnia is a global health problem among university students which is associated with various psychiatric problems like depression and anxiety. While different developed and developing countries assessed the prevalence of insomnia in youth, currently there is hardly systematic review of studies found based on the prevalence of insomnia in South Asia. AIMS: The aim of this study is to systematically review the evidence relating to the prevalence rate of insomnia in university students in South Asian countries. METHODS: Electronic searches of three databases, PubMed, Cochrane library, and Worldwide science were performed from 2010 to 2020 before April. In total, seven studies were included for evaluating insomnia in South Asian region among university students. RESULTS: The prevalence rates of insomnia of the seven studies ranged between 35.4% (95% CI: 32.4-38.5%) and 70% (95% CI: 65.7-74.1%). The pooled prevalence of insomnia among university students was 52.1% (95% CI: 41.1-63.1%). CONCLUSIONS: This review emphasized that insomnia in university students might be a common health issue to give full concentration in their studies and academic performance. Thus, more attention should be given to the determinants of insomnia among university students, so that it could be helpful to identify the main causes of insomnia and effective measures could be taken.