Sleep duration and progression to sarcopenia in Japanese community‐dwelling older adults: a 4 year longitudinal study

Abstract

Background Identifying factors that contribute to the development of sarcopenia in older adults is a public health priority. Although several studies have examined the association between sleep duration and sarcopenia, additional evidence is needed to reveal the causality of this association, especially from a longitudinal study. The purpose of the present study was to examine whether sleep duration was associated with the progression to sarcopenia and its subcomponents among community‐dwelling older adults in Japan. Methods A total of 3918 older community‐dwelling people (mean age: 73.2 ± 6.0 years, 51.8% female) included in the National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology Study of Geriatric Syndromes were analysed. Sleep duration was assessed using a self‐reported questionnaire. Logistic regression analysis was used to estimate the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of progression of sarcopenia at Wave 2 (4 years later), according to the three categories of sleep duration [short: ≤6.0 h, medium: 6.1–8.9 h (control), & long: ≥9.0 h)] at Wave 1. Results The numbers in each group in the second wave among the total sample were as follows: short 403 (10.3%), medium 2877 (73.4%), and long 638 (16.3%). Significant associations with the progression of sarcopenia were found in the long sleep duration group compared with the medium one, even after adjustment for other covariates (OR 1.66, 95% CI: 1.02–2.69, P = 0.040). Long sleep duration was significantly associated with slow gait (OR: 1.55, 95% CI: 1.17–2.06, P = 0.002) and low grip strength (OR: 1.34, 95% CI: 1.00–1.78, P = 0.047) but was not associated with low muscle mass (OR: 1.33, 95% CI: 0.74–2.38, P = 0.343). Conclusions This study revealed that long sleep duration was associated with an increased risk of progression to sarcopenia among older adults.

Sleep duration and sarcopenia in adults aged ≥ 65 years from low and middle-income countries

“…Findings from the present study support, contradict and add to previous literature. They support previous literature through confirming that an association exists between long sleep duration and sarcopenia [18,19,37], and add to this through showing such an association holds in a large representative sample across five LMICs. However, the present findings contradict previous literature by showing that long sleep duration was only associated with females whereas previous work has found such an association in males [18].…”

“…The selection of the control variables was based on past literature [19], and included age, sex, highest education achieved (≤ primary, secondary, tertiary), wealth quintiles based on income, physical activity, smoking (never, current, past), alcohol consumption in the past 30 days, BMI, angina, chronic lung disease (i.e., emphysema, bronchitis, COPD), diabetes, hypertension, stroke, and depression. Levels of physical activity were assessed with the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire and were classified as low, moderate, and high based on conventional cut-offs [30].…”

“…In a systematic review and meta-analyses including just four cross-sectional studies carried out in China, Korea, Netherlands, and Taiwan, it was found that long and short sleep duration were associated with higher risk for sarcopenia, with females being affected by both short and long sleep, while males were only affected by long sleep duration [18]. Furthermore, a recent longitudinal study (not included in the review) found that long sleep duration was associated with an increased risk of progression to sarcopenia over 4-years among 3918 older community-dwelling adults from Japan [19]. However, the existing literature has some important limitations.…”

Sexual Difference in Effect of Long Sleep Duration on Incident Sarcopenia after Two Years in Community-Dwelling Older Adults

“…Unlike previous cross-sectional studies that reported the association of sleep duration with sarcopenia in female 13) and both sexes, 19) we observed an association only in male. However, both previous studies were cross-sectional and only two studies have reported on the longitudinal effect of long sleep duration on sarcopenia, 14,42) neither of which investigated sex differences in this relationship. Therefore, our findings demonstrate the difference in the cause-effect relationships of long sleep duration on incident sarcopenia.…”

Both Short and Long Sleep Durations are Risk Factors for Sarcopenia in Suburban-Dwelling Older Chinese Individuals: A 3-Year Longitudinal Study

“…The first longitudinal cohort study of sleep duration and sarcopenia revealed that only long sleep duration was associated with sarcopenia. 12 Hence, the relationship between sleep duration and sarcopenia remains uncertain. Furthermore, most previous studies are cross-sectional studies; there are few longitudinal studies exploring the causal relationship between them.…”