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Elderly

Abnormal Sleep Duration Linked to Poor Cognitive Function in Rural Elderly in China

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

Research conducted by Jining No. 1 People's Hospital and published in PLOS One has found that abnormal sleep duration is associated with poor cognitive function in older adults in rural China. The study aimed to investigate the relationship between sleep duration and cognitive function among older adults in rural China. The research team collected data from the Confucius Hometown Aging Project in Shandong, China, and analyzed the association between sleep duration and cognitive function using linear and logistic regressions.

Key Takeaways:

  • The study found that sleep duration of 5 hours per day was associated with a higher odd of cognitive impairment compared to 6 hours of sleep per day, with an odds ratio of 1.70 (1.05, 2.74).
  • After adjusting for covariates, the association between sleep duration of 5 hours and cognitive impairment was attenuated and insignificant.
  • Individuals reporting short (5 hours) or long (8 hours) sleep duration per day had a lower Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score compared to those with 6 hours of sleep per day.
  • The adjusted b coefficient for sleep duration of 5 hours was -0.36 (-0.71, -0.02), and for sleep duration of 8 hours was -0.68 (-1.06, -0.30).
  • The patterns of association between sleep duration and cognitive function were similar for cognitive subdomains in orientation, attention, and calculation.
  • The study concluded that abnormal sleep duration was associated with poor cognitive function in older adults in China.

Statistics:

  • 1.70 odds ratio (95% confident interval) for the association between sleep duration of 5 hours and cognitive impairment.
  • -0.36 adjusted b coefficient (95% confidence interval) for sleep duration of 5 hours and MMSE score.
  • -0.68 adjusted b coefficient (95% confidence interval) for sleep duration of 8 hours and MMSE score.

Sources:

  • Sleep duration and cognitive function among rural older adults in China: A population-based study. PLOS One, 2025;20(10).
  • Public Library Science. Public Library Science, 1160 Battery Street, Ste 100, San Francisco, CA 94111, USA.
  • Jining No. 1 People's Hospital. Dept. of Neurology, Jining No. 1 People's Hospital, Jining, Shandong, People's Republic of China.

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