Factors associated with insomnia in older adult outpatients vary by gender: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background Insomnia is a common sleep disturbance in older adults and is associated with many poor health outcomes. This study aimed to explore factors associated with insomnia in older adult outpatient clinics, and to further analyze the influence of gender on factors associated with insomnia. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted in the outpatient clinics of a tertiary hospital in Southern Taiwan from July to September 2018. A total of 400 consecutive subjects aged 60 years or older were recruited. Insomnia was defined as a score of ≥6 points on the Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS). Socio-demographics, health behaviors and clinical data were collected by face-to-face interview. Multivariable logistic regression was adopted for statistical analysis of the entire sample and stratified by gender. Results Participants’ mean age was 74.74 ± 8.54 years, and the majority (93%) had more than one chronic disease. The prevalence of insomnia accounted for 30% (120/400) of all subjects, with males 22.9% (46/201) and females 37.2% (74/199). Gender, appetite, exercise, depressive symptoms, and sleep-related conditions such as short sleep duration, sleeping pills usage, medium-high risk of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and restless leg syndrome (RLS) were factors associated with insomnia in older adults. Exercise, sleeping pills usage, and RLS were independently associated with insomnia only in men, while appetite and medium-high risk of OSA were associated with insomnia in women only. In addition, after further adjusting for covariates, prevalence of the insomnia-related symptoms such as sleep induction, total sleep duration, sleep quality and sleepiness during the day was significantly higher in females than in males. Conclusions Insomnia symptoms are highly prevalent among older adults, predominantly females. Significant differences are found between genders in factors associated with insomnia and insomnia-related symptoms. Understanding gender differences may help clinicians to modify associated factors when managing older adults with insomnia.

Impact of Gender on Insomnia

“…This result is consistent with a study of 260 Korean insomniacs [ 53 ]. It does not, however, comply with the results of an online survey conducted in Norway, a study from France, or a Taiwanese cross-sectional study, which found that SOL alone was more common in women than in men [ 43 , 45 , 51 ].…”

“…A cross-sectional study in Taiwan suggests that no or irregular exercise, using sleeping pills, and suffering from Restless Legs Syndrome were correlated to insomnia in males. Poor appetite has been shown to be relevant in female insomniacs [ 43 ].…”

Sleep As Preamble Of Optimal Health Among Elderly Hypertensive Adults

“…(Table 5) In gender wise distribution of elderly, in current study, 68(56.67%), and 65(54.17%) were male and 52(43.33%) and 55(45.83%) were female the experimental and control group respectively and also the female had disturbed sleep than the male it was equal to the study Xiao, L et.al 2021 says that the older adults aged ≥ 60 years who were included in the survey included 2198 (45.5%) males and 2635 (54.5%) females developed poor quality sleep. 19,21 The researcher observed that elderly from rural areas with illiterate (50.00%), unemployed (48.84%) and less monthly income (61.54%) have high proportionate to poor quality sleep leads to difficulty in control and maintenance of the normal range of blood pressure . , it was supported by the study Peng Wang et.…”

Efficacy and safety of tuina for senile insomnia

“…Sleep disorders are common in older adults and have been associated with [16][17][18] nocturia, depression, and metabolic syndrome in addition to previously listed symptoms, age is thought to be the main cause of insomnia, and the incidence of insomnia increases significantly with age. [19][20] Therefore, we will systematically review the curative effect of tuina in the treatment of insomnia in the elderly, which is conducive to the promotion and application of massage in the clinical treatment of insomnia in the elderly. We hope that this study will provide highlevel evidence for the application of massage in the treatment of insomnia in the elderly population.…”