Sleep patterns, sleep disturbances and sleepiness in retired Iranian elders

Objectives Complaints of sleep disturbance increase with age and many studies have reported on the relationship of sleep problems to the greater use of health services, physical and mental morbidity, functional decline, and all causes of mortality. This study aimed to examine sleep patterns and sleep disturbances in Iranian elders and correlate their sleep quality to their health status. Methods Four hundred men and women, aged 60 years or older, were interviewed by trained interviewers regarding their physical and mental health status. The Pittsburghh Sleep Quality Index, the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), and a General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) were then administered to each participant. The data gathered were analyzed using χ2‐test, t‐test, and one‐way analysis of variance and logistic regression. Results The results indicated that the majority of participants (82.6%) suffered from poor sleep quality and approximately one‐third (29.2%) experienced sleepiness during the daytime. Difficulty falling asleep (p ≤ 0.001) and maintaining sleep (p ≤ 0.01) and the feeling of being too hot at night (p ≤ 0.005) were significantly more prevalent in women, but men suffered more from leg twitching (p ≤ 0.01). Being female (OR = 2.52), and having GHQ scores of more than 11 (OR = 4.14) increased the risk of poor sleep quality considerably. Conclusion Promoting sleep hygiene education of elders in primary health care services are recommended. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.