Reciprocal Effects between Sleep Quality and Life Satisfaction in Older Adults: The Mediating Role of Health Status

The mediating roles of activities of daily living and depression in the relationship between pain and sleep duration among rural older adults in China: a cross-sectional study

Background

As the population ages, the health of rural older adults is of increasing concern to society. Pain, decreased activity of daily living, depression, and sleep are important factors affecting the quality of life of older adults. This study aimed to explore the complex relationship between pain, activity of daily living, depression, and sleep in rural older adults, with the goal of providing new perspectives and intervention strategies to improve sleep quality.

Methods

This study was based on the data from the 2020 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study, and rural older adults aged 60 years and above were selected as the study subjects, with a final sample size of 5,352. Stata 18.0 and SPSS 27.0 software were used for statistical analysis, and t-tests, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and Pearson correlation analyses were used for one-way analyses, and PROCESS 4.2 was used for mediation effect analysis and testing.

Results

Pain in older adults was negatively correlated with sleep duration (r = -0.212) and positively correlated (p < 0.001) with impairment to activity of daily living (r = 0.339) and depression (r = 0.355). The mediation test reported that pain in older adults had a direct effect on sleep duration (95% CI: -0.076 to -0.043), with activity of daily living (95% CI: -0.014 to -0.004) and depression (95% CI: -0.026 to -0.017) acting as chained mediators between the two.

Conclusion

This study reveals the interrelationships between pain, activity of daily living, depression and sleep in rural older adults. It is recommended that medical resources be strengthened, health awareness be increased, community care services be improved, recreational activities be provided, and family emotional support be encouraged to improve the health and quality of life of older adults.

The effects of sleep quality on loneliness among older adults: cohort analysis from the life course perspective

BACKGROUND

Using cohort analysis to examine the effects of sleep quality on loneliness among older adults from the life course perspective.

METHODS

The hierarchical age-period-cohort growth curve model was used to analyze the data from the 2005-2018 Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS).

RESULTS

(1) Loneliness has a 'U' curve relationship with age, but with the rate of increase gradually slowing down. (2) There were significant differences in loneliness across birth cohorts, with younger cohorts having higher predicted loneliness than older cohorts at the same age. (3) The influence of different sleep quality on loneliness showed a trend of increasing with age. (4) There were no significant differences in the impact of sleep quality on loneliness in different cohorts.

CONCLUSIONS

This study has identified heterogeneity in loneliness, emphasising the need for a diversified intervention approach. Sleep quality has a protective effect on loneliness and is easy to assess, making it an important intervention tool. In addition, it is imperative to account for the influences of age and cohort effects when formulating intervention strategies.

Sleep quality as a mediator between family function and life satisfaction among Chinese older adults in nursing home

BACKGROUND

The life satisfaction of the elderly in nursing home is the focus of social concern.The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of family function and sleep quality on life satisfaction among elderly individuals in nursing homes and examine the mediating effect of sleep quality between family function and life satisfaction.

METHODS

A cross-sectional observational study was conducted .A total of 127 older adults who completed the Life Satisfaction Index A (LSI-A), the Family APGAR Index and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) were recruited from four nursing homes in Chongqing, China.

RESULTS

Life satisfaction was positively correlated with family function (r=0.434, p<0.01) and negatively correlated with PSQI (r = -0.514, p<0.01). PSQI was found to be negatively associated with family function (r=-0.387, p<0.01).Family function had a significant effect on PSQI (path a: β=-0.8459, 95% CI=-1.2029, -0.4889), and PSQI had a significant effect on life satisfaction (path b: β=-0.3916, 95% CI=-0.5407, -0.2425). The total effect (path c) and direct effect (path c') of family function on life satisfaction were significant (β=0.8931, 95% CI=0.5626, 1.2235 and β=0.56181, 95% CI=0.2358, 0.8879, respectively). The coefficient for the indirect effect of family function on life satisfaction through PSQI was statistically significant (β=0.3312, 95% CI=0.1628, 0.5588). PSQI played a partial mediating role between family function and life satisfaction, and PSQI mediated 32.58% of the total effect of family function on life satisfaction.

CONCLUSIONS

Family function and sleep quality were significant predictors of elderly people's life satisfaction in nursing homes. Sleep quality partially mediated the relationship between family function and life satisfaction.The interventions focused on promoting family function and improving sleep quality may be more helpful in improving elderly people's life satisfaction in nursing homes.

Are changes in sleep problems associated with changes in life satisfaction during the retirement transition?

Retirement reduces sleep problems, but changes in life satisfaction during the retirement transition are multifactorial and partly unknown. The aim of this prospective cohort study was to examine whether changes in sleep problems are associated with changes in total and domain-specific life satisfaction during the retirement transition (on average 0.5 years before and 0.5 years after retirement). The study population consisted of Finnish public sector employees (n = 3518) from the Finnish Retirement and Aging (FIREA) study who responded to annual surveys before and after transition to statutory retirement. Sleep problems were measured with Jenkins Sleep Problem Scale questionnaire and participants were grouped into four sleep problem groups depending on the state of their sleep problems during the retirement transition: 'Never,' 'Decreasing,' 'Increasing,' and 'Constant' sleep problems. Life satisfaction was measured with the Life Satisfaction Scale questionnaire including four domains (interestingness, happiness, easiness, togetherness). We found that the improvement in total life satisfaction was greatest for participants in the 'Decreasing' (0.17, 95% CI 0.11-0.23, SMD 0.27) and 'Constant' (0.12, 95% CI 0.07-0.18, SMD 0.19) sleep problem groups. Of the specific life satisfaction domains, similar findings were observed only for the easiness domain. It seems that decreasing or constant sleep problems are associated with improved life satisfaction during the retirement transition, especially in the feeling of easiness of life. This may be due to the fact that as the demands of working life are removed, sleep problems are alleviated or it becomes easier to live with them, which improves life satisfaction.