Doctors in UK need more training on insomnia diagnosis, says Datamonitor, predicting market growth

More than 3.25 million people in the UK are estimated to meet the diagnostic criteria for insomnia. However, a sizeable proportion of patients do not seek medical advice and doctors aren't suitably prepared to identify and address the problem suggests independent market analyst Datamonitor.

Charlotte Mackey, senior healthcare analyst at Datamonitor, said: 'Key opinion leaders interviewed by Datamonitor expressed a strong belief that despite the high prevalence of insomnia, improvement in recognition, diagnosis and treatment is required. In particular, improved physician training in relation to insomnia is recommended.

'The key issue is that a sizeable proportion of patients do not seek medical advice about sleeping problems, with the majority either ignoring the problem or using self-help methods such as alcohol, natural remedies or over-the-counter (OTC) products'.