Association Between Digital Isolation and Sleep Disorders in Older Adults: Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Study...

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Digital Health
• Sleep Medicine

Background:

• Digital isolation is a growing concern for older adults, potentially impacting health information access and social support.
• This isolation may contribute to poorer sleep quality, but longitudinal evidence establishing causality is limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the association between digital isolation and sleep disorders in older adults.
• To assess how specific digital isolation components affect sleep disorder risk.
• To utilize both cross-sectional and longitudinal designs for comprehensive analysis.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS) data (2011-2022).
• Inclusion of discovery (5989) and validation (3443) samples of older adults.
• Measurement of digital isolation via technology use (phones, internet, email) and sleep disorders via self-reported difficulties and medication use.
• Application of multivariable logistic regression and Cox proportional hazards models.

Main Results:

• Cross-sectional analyses showed higher sleep disorder prevalence with greater digital isolation (OR 1.23 in discovery, OR 1.22 in validation).
• Longitudinal analyses indicated an increased risk of sleep disorders with high digital isolation in discovery (HR 1.21) and pooled samples (HR 1.17).
• The association was not significant in the validation sample after adjustment (HR 1.11).

Conclusions:

• Digital isolation is significantly associated with sleep disorders in older adults, particularly in cross-sectional data.
• Longitudinal findings offer partial support, with variations possibly due to sample heterogeneity.
• Future interventions targeting mental health may be crucial for mitigating digital isolation's impact on sleep.