AI Insight
A cross-sectional study of 3,436 adults aged 60 and older found that 19.6% experienced sleep disorders and 12.8% had anxiety symptoms, with anxiety being associated with more than double the odds of having sleep disorders. Mediation analysis revealed that self-rated health and life satisfaction partially explained this relationship, accounting for approximately 22% and 17% of the association respectively. However, the cross-sectional design limits the ability to establish causal relationships between these variables.
Why it matters
These findings suggest that addressing anxiety in older adults may help improve sleep quality, and that interventions targeting overall health perception and life satisfaction could provide additional benefits. The results emphasize the importance of integrated mental health screening in geriatric care to identify and treat co-occurring anxiety and sleep problems.
BackgroundSleep disorders and anxiety are both common in older adults and are closely related to health and wellbeing. However, evidence from large population-based samples remains limited, particularly regarding the potential roles of self-rated health and life satisfaction in this association.ObjectiveTo examine the prevalence of anxiety symptoms and sleep disorders in older adults and to investigate the association between anxiety and sleep disorders using data from the 2020 Health and Retirement Study.MethodsThis cross-sectional study used data from the 2020 Health and Retirement Study. A total of 3,436 participants aged 60 years and older who completed the psychosocial questionnaire were included. Chi-square tests, multivariable logistic regression, and mediation analyses were performed to examine the association between anxiety and sleep disorders.ResultsAmong the participants, 19.6% had sleep disorders and 12.8% had anxiety symptoms. In the multivariable logistic regression analysis, anxiety was significantly associated with higher odds of sleep disorders (OR = 2.113, 95% CI: 1.677–2.664). Mediation analysis indicated that self-rated health and life satisfaction were statistically significant indirect pathways in this association. The indirect effect through self-rated health was 0.04, accounting for 21.95% of the total association, and the indirect effect through life satisfaction was 0.03, accounting for 17.04%.ConclusionIn this sample of older adults, anxiety was significantly associated with sleep disorders. Self-rated health and life satisfaction may partly account for this association. Because of the cross-sectional design, the findings should be interpreted as associations rather than causal relationships.