Self-reported sleep duration and falls in older adults

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Sleep Medicine
• Epidemiology

Background:

• The relationship between sleep duration and accidental falls in older adults requires clarification, especially concerning sleep quality, age, and sex differences.
• Previous research has not fully elucidated whether sleep duration's impact on falls is independent of sleep quality.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between sleep duration and accidental falls in community-dwelling older adults.
• To determine if this association is independent of sleep quality and varies by age and sex.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study involving 1542 Spanish adults aged 68 years and older, assessed via telephone interviews.
• Logistic regression analysis was used, adjusting for lifestyle, health status, comorbidity, and sleep quality indicators (nighttime and daytime sleep complaints).
• Analyses were stratified by age (≤75 vs. >75 years) and sex.

Main Results:

• 449 participants (29.1%) reported falls in the past year, with 42.3% experiencing recurrent falls.
• Sleeping ≥11 hours was associated with a higher likelihood of recurrent falls (OR 2.75) compared to 7-8 hours of sleep.
• In individuals over 75 years, both short (≤5 hours) and long (≥11 hours) sleep durations increased fall risk. Women sleeping ≥11 hours showed a higher risk of at least one fall (OR 3.89).

Conclusions:

• Long sleep duration is linked to an increased frequency of falls in older adults, independent of sleep quality.
• This association is more pronounced in women and the oldest age groups (>75 years).
• Assessing sleep duration is crucial for identifying older adults at risk and implementing targeted fall prevention interventions.