Worsening sleep quality over a five-year period is significantly associated with poorer mental quality of life, U.S. researchers say.
Lead author Graciela E. Silva of Arizona State University said the study also found increasing daytime sleepiness symptoms were associated with both poorer physical and mental quality of life.
The study obtained polysomnographic ā recordings of biophysiological changes that occur during sleep ā and clinical data from 3,078 patients included in the baseline examination of the Sleep Heart Health Study, a multi-center longitudinal study.
The mean age of participants was 62 years at baseline and 67 years at follow-up. Fifty-five percent were women, 75 percent Caucasian and 77 percent were married. Coronary heart disease was more prevalent in men, and respiratory disease was more prominent in women.
The study, published in the journal Sleep, found scores for both summary scales were lower for subjects with respiratory diseases and those taking sleeping pills. However, the researchers found the Physical Component Summary scales, but not Mental Component Summary scale scores, were significantly lower for subjects with coronary heart disease.
Ā© 2009 UPI. Displayed by permission. All rights reserved.