A - 30 Risk Factors for Poor Sleep Quality and Subjective Cognitive Decline during the COVID-19 Pandemic in an Ethnoracially Diverse US Sample.

Abstract

Poor sleep quality is associated with subjective cognitive decline (SCD), a risk factor for developing Alzheimer's disease and Mild Cognitive Impairment. These relationships are understudied in ethnoracially diverse groups. We examined associations between sociodemographic characteristics, sleep changes during the COVID-19 pandemic (i.e., increased problems/poorer quality), and SCD in ethnoracially diverse older individuals in the US. 870 older adults (126 Latino, 74 Black, 33 Asian, and 637 White; Mage = 67.0 [7.6]) completed an online survey including sociodemographic information, the Everyday Cognition scale (ECog), which measures SCD, and a question inquiring about increased sleep problems/worsened sleep quality during the pandemic. Chi-square tests and analyses of variance assessed sociodemographic and SCD differences between groups. Regression and correlation analyses assessed relationships among sociodemographic factors, changes in sleep quality, and SCD. White participants were older (p < 0.001), and White and Asian groups had higher education levels (p = 0.009) than Latinos. There were more female (p = 0.016) and middle-income (p = 0.019) White respondents. There were no group differences in ECog ratings (p = 0.143) or the proportion of respondents endorsing changes in sleep during the pandemic (p = 0.197). Changes in sleep were associated with greater SCD (β= 0.214, p < 0.001). Younger age (p < 0.001), female sex (p = 0.001), and lower income (p = 0.016) were significant predictors of changes in sleep. Poorer sleep quality resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with SCD concerns. Notably, younger, female, and lower-income adults may have been at greater risk for increased sleep problems. Future work is needed to comprehensively examine sleep quality, SCD, and objective cognitive functioning in more representative samples.