Prospective data on sleep complaints and associated risk factors in an older cohort

Objective: The purpose of this study is to provide data on the prevalence o f insomnia and hypersomnia among older persons, the stability of these slee p complaints over time, and factors associated with disturbed sleep, in par ticular age. Method: Data on symptoms of insomnia and hypersomnia were exam ined for the 1994 to 1995 cohort of the Alameda County Study. In addition t o age, the effects of gender, education, marital status, chronic medical co nditions, functional impairment, life events, financial strain, and mood di sturbance were examined using multiple logistic analyses. Results: Prevalen ce in 1994 was 23.4% for insomnia and 6.8% for hypersomnia. There was moder ate concordance between sleep complaints in 1994 and 1995 (kappa = .43). Th ere was a tendency for insomnia and hypersomnia to increase with age in 199 5, but not in 1994. Only gender, mood disturbance, and chronic health probl ems predicted insomnia. Life events, mood disturbance, and chronic conditio ns predicted hypersomnia. Age, net of the effects of other factors, was not associated with risk of either insomnia or hypersomnia. Conclusions: The r esults contribute to the expanding body of evidence concerning the importan t roles of psychological and somatic dysfunction in sleep disturbance. Age in and of itself is not a risk factor for insomnia or hypersomnia. That is, after adjustment for an array of putative risk factors for sleep problems, it seems the association between sleep difficulties and age is primarily d ue to depressed mood and physical health problems.