Association between sleep patterns and symptoms of depression in older adults: a cross-sectional study using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2007-2014

Background To assess the association between sleep behaviour and sleep factors (sleep duration, sleep problems, sleep disturbances) and the risk of depression in older adults. Methods A total of 5636 participants (2754 men and 2882 women) aged 60 years and older from the 2007–2014 waves of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) were included. Sleep duration, sleep problems, and sleep disorders were assessed in the home by trained interviewers using the Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) system. The combined sleep behaviours were referred to as 'sleep patterns (healthy, intermediate and poor)', with a 'healthy sleep pattern' defined as sleeping 7–9 hours per night with no self-reported sleep problems or sleep disorders. Intermediate and poor sleep patterns indicated 1 and 2–3 sleep problems, respectively. Logistic multiple linear regression was used to assess the association of sleep factors and sleep patterns with the risk of depressive symptoms. Results The overall prevalence of depression was 7.7% among the 5636 participants analysed, with the rate of depression in older women being 1.6 times higher than in older men. Compared with normal sleep duration (7–9 hours), short sleep duration (<7 hours) was associated with a higher risk of depression, but long sleep duration (> 9h) did not reach statistical significance. (Short sleep: OR: 2.04, 95% CI: 1.65–2.52; long sleep: OR: 1.47, 95% CI: 0.87–2.48). Self-reported sleep complaints, whether trouble sleeping or sleep disorder, were significantly associated with depression (sleep disturbance: OR: 0.3, 95% CI: 0.24–0.37; sleep disturbance: OR: 0.35, 95% CI: 0.27–0.45). In addition, the correlations appeared to be higher in people with poor sleep patterns (OR: 5.6, 95% CI: 4.25–7.39). Conclusion This nationally representative survey showed a relationship between sleep patterns and depression in older adults.