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Sleep disturbances and risk of falls in an old Chinese population-Rugao Longevity and Ageing Study
Teng Ma1, Guoping Shi2, Yinsheng Zhu2
1Unit of Epidemiology, MOE Key Laboratory of Contemporary Anthropology and State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, School of Life Sciences and Institutes of Biomedical Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China.
Background:
To explore the relationship between sleep disturbances and falls in an elderly Chinese population.
Methods:
Data from 1726 individuals aged 70-87 years from the Rugao Longevity and Ageing Study were used. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was used to assess sleep variables. Outcomes were falls ≥1 time per year and falls ≥2 times per year.
Results:
A total of 22.7% of the participants experienced ≥1 fall, and 9.8% experienced ≥2 falls per year. Poor sleep quality was associated with ≥1 fall (OR 1.08, 95% CI 1.05-1.12; OR 1.27, 95% CI 1.14-1.41) and ≥2 falls (OR 1.08, 95% CI 1.03-1.14; OR 1.28, 95% CI 1.10-1.48), with an increase per PSQI score and SD PSQI score, respectively. In addition, sleep quality, sleep latency, sleep efficiency, and sleep disturbance subcomponents were associated with an increased risk of ≥1 fall with ORs of 1.44 (95% CI, 1.21-1.72), 1.23 (95%CI,1.09-1.40), 1.12 (95%CI, 1.01-1.23) and 1.70 (95% CI,1.35-2.14), respectively, and were associated with an increased risk of ≥2 falls with ORs 1.54 (95%CI, 1.22-1.96), 1.21(95%CI, 1.02-1.44), 1.17 (95% CI 1.02-1.33), and 1.78 (95%CI, 1.31-2.44), respectively. Further, participants slept ≤5h per night had an increased risk of ≥1 fall (OR 2.34; 95%CI, 1.59-3.46) and ≥2 falls (OR 2.19; 95%CI, 1.30-3.69).
Conclusions:
Poor sleep quality and several subcomponent sleep symptoms were consistently associated with increased risk of falls ≥1 time and ≥2 times in Chinese elderly. The identification of sleep disturbances may help identify high-risk Chinese elders who may benefit from fall prevention education.