The Prevalence of Self-Reported Sleep Problems and Some Factors Affecting It Among the Elderly in Amirkola

Abstract

Background: Knowing the quality of sleep in the elderly and its effective factors helps to take measures in increasing or decreasing their effect. Objectives: The aim of this study is to determine the sleep problems and its effective factors in the elderly of Amirkola, the northern part of Iran. Methods: This cross-sectional study was extracted from the Amirkola health and ageing project (AHAP), which is a cohort project regarding the elderly in the city of Amirkola, the northern part of Iran. Since 2011, it has been started and has continued so far. Data including age, sex, level of education, life status, occupation, smoking, physical activity, self-reported chronic diseases, depressive symptoms by Geriatric depression scale (GDS), cognitive status by mini-mental state examination (MMSE), history of medication, and questions regarding sleep problems were collected by interviewing with older people or their close relatives. Results: The overall prevalence of sleep disorders in this study was 354 (24.8%). Gender, drug use, marital status, chronic pain, depression, urinary incontinence, education level, metabolic syndrome, occupation, MMSE, hypnotics, and diabetes were associated with the prevalence of sleep disorders. According to the logistic regression analyses, 12-month back pain (OR = 1.64, P = 0.003), hypnotic drugs (OR = 1.5, P = 0.03), depression (OR = 1.66, P = 0.001), age range of 75 to 79 years old (OR = 0.58, P = 0.01), accompanying chronic disease (OR = 1.15, P < 0.001), and MMSE (OR = 1.59, P = 0.003) had a significant role in sleep problems. Conclusions: This study showed a high prevalence of sleep disorders in the elderly in Amirkola, especially in women. It is necessary to assess all older individuals with sleep disorders for identifying and treatment risk factors.