Self-Reported Sleep in Older African Americans and White Americans

Assess the relationship of self-reported sleep quality and possible sleep disorders with disability in a racially diverse sample of community-dwelling older adults.

Participants included 943 non-demented older African Americans (n=452) and Whites (n=491) from two cohort studies, the Minority Aging Research Study (MARS) and the Rush Memory and Aging Project (MAP). Participants completed a 32-item questionnaire assessing sleep quality and the possible presence of three sleep disorders (sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome [RLS] and REM behavior disorder [RBD]). Disability was assessed with scales that quantified the ability to perform instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), basic activities of daily living (ADL), and physical mobility activities.

More than half of the participants reported impaired sleep quality (51%), or the possible presence of at least one sleep disorder (57%; sleep apnea 44%, RLS 25% and RBD 7%). Sleep quality was rated poorer in African Americans, those with advancing age and fewer years of education (all P<.05). Only sleep apnea risk was associated with age (P<.02). In logistic regression models adjusted for age, sex, years of education, and race, both sleep quality and disorders were associated with disability (sleep quality with mobility disability (P<.001), sleep apnea risk with mobility disability and IADL disability (all P<.001) and RLS symptoms with mobility disability (P<.01).

Results indicate that self-assessed impaired sleep is common in old age and is associated with disability.