Psychosocial Factors Associated with Sleep Quality and Duration Among Older Adults with Chronic Pain

Abstract

Sleep complaints are common among older adults with chronic pain. Because of the risk of significant side effects, sleep medications are not recommended as first-line treatments. Little is known about the association between positive psychosocial factors and sleep, but further awareness could support non-drug strategies to minimize poor sleep. The purpose of this study was to (1) determine the prevalence of self-reported poor sleep quality and short/long sleep duration in a population of older adults with chronic pain, and (2) examine the associations of negative risk factors, sleep-inducing medications, and positive psychosocial characteristics on sleep outcomes in this population. This study analyzed survey responses from 4201 adults ages ‡65 years with diagnosed back pain, osteoarthritis, and/or rheumatoid arthritis, and at least 1 year of continuous medical and drug plan enrollment. The most commonly reported sleep outcome was short sleep duration (39%), followed by poor sleep quality (22%), and long sleep duration (9%). Based on pharmaceutical claims, prescriptions for opioids (59%) or benzodiazepines (22%) were common. Perceived stress, depression, and pain or sleep prescription medications were independently associated with poor sleep quality and short or long sleep durations. The positive psychosocial factors of higher resilience and more diverse social networks were independently associated with good sleep quality and optimal sleep duration. These results underscore the importance of social and coping factors to sleep, which may provide new opportunities to improve sleep and well-being in older adults with chronic pain.

Association between social capital and sleep duration among rural older adults in China

“…Results are from proportional odds models. Results are displayed as ORs of change in sleep duration (taking 7-9 hours as reference) per unit increase in the original scale of generalized trust, visits and interaction with friends, participation of organized social activities, emotional social support, or instrumental social support a Adjusted for gender, age, education, marital status, current residential area, household annual income, living alone, and pension status b Adjusted for gender, age, education, marital status, current residential area, household annual income, living alone, pension status, smoking, alcohol drinking, and physical activity c Adjusted for gender, age, education, marital status, current residential area, household annual income, living alone, pension status, smoking, alcohol drinking, physical activity, sleep quality, BMI, depression, ADL, cognitive function, NCD, and comorbidity *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001 in rural areas would suffer more from depression [63], which was found associated with higher risk of longer sleep duration and daytime napping in previous research [64,65]. Differences in family responsibilities have led to significant gender differences in sleep outcomes, such as longer self-reported sleep in women [66].Women in Chinese society, especially in rural areas, always spend more time to give family support such as unpaid care responsibilities for grand-children and spouse [67], which makes their social capital more concentrated on their family and relatives [68].…”

The effect of incontinence on sleep quality in the elderly

“…32 In another study, Zaidel et al determined the ICIQ-SF scores of the individuals in the pre-interview as 14.60 ± 4.3. 33 In the study Arias et al, it was found that the incidence of incontinence over the age of 70 was 30%. 34 These findings are similar to the results obtained in the present study.…”

Sleep Quality And Fatigue Level Of Patients With Coronary Angiography

“…Inadequate sleep creates a vicious circle after a certain period of time, leading to increased sensitivity to pain, disgust and distractibility. 30 In the literature, hypertension and diabetes are the leading risk factors for coronary artery disease. 31 In this present study, patients with HT and on antihypertensives were found to have more fatigue.…”