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A community-based cross-sectional study of sleep quality in middle-aged and older adults

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Abstract

Background

Sleep quality has been widely studied among western countries. However, there is limited population-based evidence on insomnia in Chinese adult populations, especially in middle-aged and older adults. The aims of present study are to (1) examine the prevalence of poor sleep among Chinese middle-age and older adults, (2) compare the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) seven domain scores across different physical health statuses, (3) explore factors associated with insomnia.

Methods

A cross-sectional survey was conducted using a multi-instrument questionnaire. In total, 1563 residents aged 45 or older in the community were interviewed. The Chinese version of the PSQI was used to assess sleep quality while poor sleep was defined as a total PSQI score >5. Socio-demographic, lifestyle and physical health data were also collected.

Results

The prevalence of poor sleep among adults aged over 45 years was 20.67 %. Clusters logistic regression analysis identified that migrant workers, single marital status, lower education level, no physical exercise, illness within 2 weeks, and a higher total number of chronic diseases contribute to increased risk of poor sleep (P < 0.05). Among three clusters, physical health has the biggest independent contribution on sleep quality.

Conclusions

Our results indicated that poor sleep was common in middle-aged and older adults. It was associated with identity of migrant worker, education level, exercise, illness within 2 weeks and number of chronic disease. Being ill within 2 weeks and having more chronic diseases were the major physical health-related factors contributing to poor sleep in the middle-aged and older people. Physical health may be a major determinant in sleep quality.

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Abbreviations

BMI:

Body mass index

LR:

Local residents

MW:

Migrant workers

SS:

Senior middle school or higher

JS:

Junior middle school

ES:

Elementary school or lower

I2W:

Illness within 2 weeks

TC:

Total number of chronic diseases

OR:

Odds ratio

CI:

Confidence interval

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the Guangzhou 121 talents program (GZRSH-2014-2048, Guangzhou Municipal Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, People’s Republic of China). We gratefully acknowledged staff of local Community Health Service Agencies for their kind assistance in data collection. JJW is supported by Guangdong Exemplary Centre for Exploratory Teaching in Higher Education Institutions—General Practice Exploratory Teaching Centre [GDJG-2010-N38-35, Guangdong Department of Education, People’s Republic of China], and The Ninth Round of Guangdong Key Disciplines—General Practice [GDJY-2012-N13-85, Guangdong Department of Education, People’s Republic of China], both of which he leads.

Funding

This study was funded by the Guangzhou 121 talents program (Grant Number GZRSH-2014-2048).

Author contributions

All authors contributed to the development of the study framework, interpretation of the results, revisions of successive drafts of the manuscript and approved the version submitted for publication. HSZ, YL and JLL conducted the data analyses. HSZ, YL and WQL drafted the manuscript. HYM, PXW and JJW finalized the manuscript with inputs from all authors.

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    Authors and Affiliations

    1. Department of Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China

      Hui-Shan Zhang, Hai-yun Mo, Jing Zhao, Jia-Li Luo, Wei-Quan Lin, Jia-Ji Wang & Pei-Xi Wang

    2. Institute of Public Health, School of Nursing, Henan University, Kaifeng, China

      Hui-Shan Zhang & Pei-Xi Wang

    3. Affiliated Hospital Of Zunyi Medical College, Zunyi, China

      Yuan Li

    4. Gongming People’s Hospital & Community Health Service Management Center of Guangming New Area, Shenzhen, China

      De-Xing Qiu

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    All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. This article does not contain any studies with animals performed by any of the authors.

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    Hui-Shan Zhang and Yuan Li have contributed equally to this work.

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    Zhang, HS., Li, Y., Mo, Hy. et al. A community-based cross-sectional study of sleep quality in middle-aged and older adults. Qual Life Res 26, 923–933 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-016-1408-1

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