Age Variation in the Associations between Musculoskeletal Impairments and Sleep in Older Adults

Background: Poor sleep shortens healthy life expectancy. However, little is known about the potential link between age-related differences in poor sleep quality and musculoskeletal impairments. This study explored the association between sleep quality and musculoskeletal impairments among community-dwelling older adults in Japan. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study targeting the whole community-dwelling older adults aged ≥60 years in a town, Tochigi, Japan. Poor sleep quality was defined as Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index of >5. Presence of musculoskeletal impairments was based on the participants’ self-report of a prior diagnosis and treatment received. The association between musculoskeletal impairments and the risk of poor sleep quality was determined via multivariable logistic regression with known confounding variables, after stratification for age (60-74 and ≥75 years). Results: Of 985 participants, 341 (34.6%) reported poor sleep quality, and 137 (13.9%) had musculoskeletal impairments. Musculoskeletal impairments were significantly associated with poor sleep quality (adjusted odds ratio [aOR],=1.87; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.16-3.00). When stratified by age, this association only remained significant among those aged 60-74 years: the ORs for poor sleep quality in participants aged 60-74 and ≥75 years were 2.07 (95% CI, 1.14-3.77) and 1.59 (95% CI, 0.70-3.64), respectively. Conclusions: Musculoskeletal impairments were associated with poor sleep quality in a Japanese population, and this relationship was more pronounced in those aged 60-74 years. The prevention and management of musculoskeletal impairments might be further emphasized to promote sleep quality among young-old adults.