Document Type
Article
Original Publication Date
2016
Journal/Book/Conference Title
Journal of Aging Research
First Page
1
Last Page
10
DOI of Original Publication
10.1155/2016/3685789
Date of Submission
June 2017
Abstract
Background. Very few studies have assessed the impact of poor sleep and sleep medication use on the risk of falls among community-dwelling older adults. The objective of this study was to evaluate the association between sleep problems, sleep medication use, and falls in community-dwelling older adults. Methods. The study population comprised a nationally representative sample of noninstitutionalized older adults participating in the 2010 Health and Retirement Study. Proportion of adults reporting sleep problems, sleep medication use, and fall was calculated. Multiple logistic regression models were constructed to examine the impact of sleep problems and sleep medication use on the risk of falls after controlling for covariates. Results. Among 9,843 community-dwelling older adults, 35.8% had reported a fall and 40.8% had reported sleep problems in the past two years. Sleep medication use was reported by 20.9% of the participants. Older adults who do have sleep problems and take sleep medications had a significant high risk of falls, compared to older adults who do not have sleep problems and do not take sleep medications. The other two groups also had significantly greater risk for falls. Conclusion. Sleep problems added to sleep medication use increase the risk of falls. Further prospective studies are needed to confirm these observed findings.
Rights
Copyright © 2016 Yaena Min et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Is Part Of
VCU Pharmacotherapy and Outcomes Science Publications
Comments
Originally published at http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/3685789