Reciprocal effects of sleep duration and depressive symptoms among Chinese couples: A longitudinal dyadic analysis

The reciprocal effects between sleep and depression have been widely demonstrated. However, current understanding has focused on the association at the individual level. The present study aims to explore the longitudinal, dyadic, and reciprocal associations between sleep duration and depressive symptoms on a couple level and test whether these effects vary by gender.

Using data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS; 2011 and 2018), we analyzed 5683 couples (11,366 individuals) aged 45 and older (Mean_age = 58.69, SD = 8.55). Sleep duration was measured by self-report of sleep hours, and depressive symptoms were measured by the CES-D scale. We used actor-partner interdependence models for the analysis.

We found a significant longitudinal and reciprocal association between sleep duration and depressive symptoms for both wives and husbands. Moreover, cross-partner effects differed by gender: Husbands' sleep and depressive symptoms predicted their wives' sleep and depressive symptoms respectively, but the reverse effects from wife to husband were not statistically significant.

The measure of sleep duration relied on self-report and we lacked information about whether couples slept in the same room.

The results highlight a gendered interdependent influence of sleep duration and depressive symptoms over the 7-year follow-up, particularly from husbands to wives. Further investigation is necessary to understand the underlying mechanisms driving these observed patterns.