Sleep Duration and Health-Related Quality of Life among Older Adults: A Population-Based Cohort in Spain

Study Objectives: The few studies that have addressed the association between sleep duration and health-related quality of life (HRQL) were cross-sectional and small-sized, targeted young and middle-aged persons, and did not adjust for the main confounders. This study sought to examine the cross-sectional and longitudinal relationship between habitual sleep duration and HRQL in older adults. Design: Prospective study conducted from 2001 through 2003. Sleep duration was self-reported in 2001, and HRQL was measured using the SF-36 questionnaire in 2001 and 2003. Analyses were adjusted for the main confounders. Setting: Community-based study. Participants: A cohort of 3834 persons representative of the non-institutionalized Spanish population aged 60 years and over. Intervention: None. Measurement and Results: In comparison with women who slept 7 hours, those with extreme sleep durations (<= 5 or >= 10 h) reported worse scores on the SF-36 physical and mental scales in 2001. Among men, sleeping <= 5 h was associated with a worse score in the role-physical scale in 2001. The magnitude of most of these associations was comparable with the reduction in HRQL associated with aging 10 years. Sleep duration in 2001 failed to predict changes in HRQL between 2001 and 2003. Conclusion: Extreme sleep durations are a marker of worse HRQL in the elderly.