Correlation between Sleep Quality and Frailty Status among Middle-Aged and Older Taiwanese People: A Community-Based, Cross-Sectional Study

Poor sleep quality and frailty are common problems among aged people. However, the association between sleep quality and frailty in middle-aged and older people is seldom discussed in Asia, especially in Taiwan. This study investigated this association hopefully to provide pertinent knowledge for the prevention of frailty. We conducted a cross-sectional study and enrolled 828 subjects, 237 male and 591 female, aged 50-85 years old, from a community in Northern Taiwan. Poor sleep quality was defined as the Chinese version of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (CPSQI) > 5. Prefrailty and frailty were defined as fulfillment of one or two and three, respectively, of five phenotypic criteria: exhaustion, weakness, slowness, weight loss, and low physical activity. Our univariate analysis showed that the incidence of prefrailty/frailty in the group of poor sleep quality was higher than that in the group of CPSQI <= 5 (p < 0.001). Further multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that poor sleep quality was an independent factor for prefrailty and frailty status (odds ratio = 1.95, 95% confidence interval = 1.38-2.77), after adjustment for confounding factors. We concluded that poor sleep quality is independently associated with prefrailty and frailty status in our study population.