Research Article: The Impact of Lung Function Parameters on Sleep Among Aboriginal Australians – A Polysomnography and Spirometry Relationship Study
Abstract:
The existence of Aboriginal people in the Northern Australian continent dates back to , years (Clarkson et al. Human occupation of northern Australia by , years ago. Nature ). The First Australians had belief in dreaming and fostered dreaming as an avenue for advocating moral, human behaviour and culture. Aboriginal elders have also identified that sleep is an important aspect of wellbeing and that lack of quality sleep could have a critical effect on spirituality, connection to the land, country, and kinship. However, similar to Indigenous populations globally, a history of colonisation and dispossession of country has resulted in ongoing intergenerational trauma and disadvantage, moreover, adaptation to demanding modern world and culture has resulted in contemporary health inequities. Indigenous Australians have a higher burden of lung/breathing disorders in comparison to non-Indigenous Australians. However, no studies have examined the impact of sleep in the presence or absence or its interrelationship with lung/breathing disorders in Aboriginal people. This study for the first time assessed sleep health profile and its relationship to lung function/breathing amongst adult Aboriginal Australians in Northern Australia and has demonstrated that presence of abnormal lung function/breathing could have an impact on several sleep-related domains, more specifically during rapid eye movement sleep and in overall sleep efficiency. Hence, it is reasonable to speculate that improving lung function/breathing would result in better sleep in Aboriginal people.
Introduction:
The Australian Aboriginal population experiences a higher prevalence of chronic airway diseases than their non-Aboriginal peers. Emerging literature highlights the high prevalence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), bronchiectasis, and asthma, among other complex and comorbid conditions, as well as reduced lung function in the absence of objective evidence of disease. – Presence of chronic airway diseases and reduced lung function have been noted to significantly increase the risk of, and overlap with…
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