Do older people with poor sleep quality have worse cardiac autonomic control?

Abstract

Objective To identify the differences in cardiac autonomic control between older people with good and poor sleep quality. Material and Methods This is a cross-sectional study with 40 older people aged ≥ 60 years, registered at a community health center in Petrolina, Pernambuco, Brazil. The sleep quality was assessed with the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). To assess heart rate variability (HRV), the RR intervals (RRI) were recorded for 10 min with a validated smartphone app and a wireless transmitter Polar H7 positioned on the patient’s chest. The HRV parameters were calculated with Kubios HRV, and the data were analyzed in SPSS. Subjects with good and poor sleep quality (PSQI >5) were compared with the Mann-Whitney U test. Results A total of 31 older people were included in the final analysis, with 18 (58.1%) of them having poor sleep quality. Older people with good sleep quality have similar cardiac autonomic control to those with poor sleep quality. The medians of time (mean RRI, pNN50, SDNN, and RMSSD) and frequency-domain HRV parameters (LFms2, LFnu, HFms2, HFnu, and LF/HF ratio) were statistically similar (p > .05) in older people with good and poor sleep quality. According to the effect size, the HRV indicators were slightly better among those with good sleep quality. Conclusion There were no statistical differences in cardiac autonomic control between older people with good and poor sleep quality.

Association Between Sleep Duration and Osteoporosis in Older Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study in Taiwan

“…However, in our study, we did not observe this link, which may be attributed to potential confounding variables such as recent psychosocial stressors and lifestyle. A study that investigated HRV among older adults (that had a limited sample size) observed no statistically signi cant differences in cardiac autonomic control between older adults with high and low sleep quality [4]. This nding is also consistent with the primary outcomes regarding HRV in our study.…”

“…Older adults are also predisposed to increased daytime sleepiness. Failure to proactively address sleep disturbances has a spectrum of deleterious health consequences [3,4].…”