Associations of adverse childhood and lifetime experiences with sleep quality and duration among women in midlife

Abstract

ObjectivesMany women experience sleep problems during midlife. Associations of adverse lifetime experiences—more common among women—with sleep outcomes are understudied. MethodsWe studied 476 women enrolled in Project Viva 1999-2002. At enrollment, participants reported any lifetime history of abuse and/or financial hardship. At midlife follow-up ∼20 years later, they reported a history of up to 10 adverse childhood experiences (ACEs); 7-day sleep quality (patient-reported outcomes measurement information system sleep disturbance and sleep-related impairment T-scores); and past month average sleep duration. We examined associations of adverse experiences with sleep outcomes, adjusted for childhood sociodemographic variables. We also explored mediation by current depression and anxiety symptoms, hot flash severity, general health, and body mass index. ResultsACEs were common: 301 women (63%) reported one or more. Each additional ACE was associated with higher midlife sleep disturbance (adjusted β = 0.65 points, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.27, 1.02) and sleep-related impairment (0.98, 95% CI: 0.54, 1.41) T-scores, and with sleep duration <6 hour/night (odds ratio 1.19, 95% CI: 1.00, 1.42), but not with continuous sleep duration (−2 minutes, 95% CI: −5, 1). Adverse experiences in adulthood were less consistently associated with sleep quality but were associated with sleep duration, for example, financial hardship during the index pregnancy was associated with 75 minutes (95% CI: −120, −29) shorter sleep duration 2 decades later. Associations of ACEs with sleep disturbance and sleep-related impairment were mediated by midlife depression anxiety and physical health but not by hot flash severity or body mass index. ConclusionsAdverse lifetime experiences have deleterious associations with sleep duration and quality in midlife women.