The sleep patterns of humans are greatly influenced by age and sex and have various effects on overall health as they change continuously during the lifespan. We investigated age-dependent changes in sleep properties and their relation to sex in the middle-aged.
We analyzed data from 2640 participants (mean age of 49.8 ± 6.8 years at baseline, 50.6% women) in the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study, which assessed sleep habits using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and other clinical characteristics. We analyzed the sleep habit changes that occurred between baseline and a follow-up point (mean interval 12.00 ± 0.16 years). Associations of age and sex with nine sleep characteristics were evaluated.
Age was associated with most of the sleep characteristics cross-sectionally and longitudinally (p<0.05), except for the time in bed (TIB) at baseline (p=0.455) and Δsleep duration (p=0.561). Compared to men, women had higher PSQI scores, shorter TIB, shorter sleep duration, and longer latency at baseline (p≤0.001). Longitudinal deterioration of PSQI score, habitual sleep efficiency (HSE), duration, and latency was more prominent in women (p<0.001). The sex differences in these longitudinal sleep changes were mainly noticeable before the age of 60 (p<0.05). Worsening of PSQI scores, HSE, and latency was most evident in peri-menopausal women. Men presented with larger advancement of chronotype (p<0.001), with the peak sex-related difference occurring in the late 40s (p=0.048).
Aging is associated with substantial deterioration in sleep quantity and quality as well as chronotype advancement, with the degree and timing of these changes differing by sex.

© 2021 American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

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