Prof Ohayon said although although more research is needed

Scientists found one in every 25 adults are cheap louis vuitton sunglasses prone to night time wandering, with 29.2 per cent reporting some form of sleepwalking since childhood. The study also showed an association between nocturnal disruption and certain psychiatric disorders, such as depression and anxiety. The researchers said the study "underscores the fact that sleepwalking is much more prevalent in adults than previously appreciated." Lead author Maurice Ohayon, professor of psychiatry and behavioural sciences at Stanford University School of Medicinein the United States, said: "Apart from a study we did 10 years ago in the European general population, where we reported a prevalence of two per cent of sleepwalking, there are nearly no data regarding the prevalence of nocturnal wanderings in the adult general population." The researchers studied nearly 20,000 members of the public in 15 US states, using a telephone survey to build up a picture of their mental health, medical history and medication use. From they, they asked them specific questions related louis vuitton jewelry to sleepwalking, including frequency of episodes during sleep, duration of the sleep disorder and any inappropriate or potentially dangerous behaviour during sleep. Those who did not report any episodes in the last year were then asked if they had sleepwalked during their childhood. The researchers determined that as many as 3.6 per cent of the sample reported at least one episode of sleepwalking in the previous year, with one per cent saying they had two or more episodes in a month. More than 80 per cent of those who reported sleepwalking as adults said they have done it for more than five years, with a third having a family history of the condition. It found sleepwalking was not associated with gender and seemed to decrease with age. Those with depression were 3.5 times more likely to sleepwalk than those without, and people who abused or are dependant on alcohol or suffer cheap burberry bags obsessive-compulsive disorder were also significantly more likely to have sleepwalking episodes. People taking SSRI antidepressants were three times more likely to sleepwalk twice a month or more than those who took none. Prof Ohayon said: "There is no doubt an association between nocturnal wanderings and certain conditions, but we don't know the direction of the causality. "Are the medical conditions provoking sleepwalking, or is it vice versa? Or perhaps it's the treatment that is responsible." Prof Ohayon said although although more research is needed, the work could help raise awareness of the association among primary care physicians. He added: "We're not expecting them to diagnose cheap burberry bag brown fashion on sale 2012 sleepwalking, but they might detect symptoms that could be indices of sleepwalking." The findings were published in the journal Neurology.