Prevalence and associated factors of excessive daytime sleepiness in rural older adults: a population-based study

To investigate the prevalence and associated factors of excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) among rural-dwelling Chinese older adults.

We collected data on demographic, epidemiological, and clinical factors via in-person interviews and clinical examinations following a structured questionnaire. The 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15) was used to assess depressive symptoms, the Berlin questionnaire (BQ) to assess obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) risk; and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) to assess sleep characteristics. EDS was defined as the total ESS score > 10.

This population-based study engaged 4845 participants (age ≥ 65 years, 57.3% female) in the 2018 examination of the Multimodal Interventions to Delay Dementia and Disability in Rural China. The prevalence of EDS was 9.3% in the total sample, 8.3% in females, and 10.6% in males, and the prevalence decreased with advanced age. Logistic regression analysis revealed that EDS was significantly associated with age (multivariable-adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 0.97; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.95–0.99), female sex (0.53; 0.36–0.77), hypertension (0.68; 0.54–0.85), depressive symptoms (2.68; 2.07–3.46), high OSA risk (2.11; 1.69–2.63), and poor sleep quality (2.12; 1.60–2.82).

EDS affects nearly one-tenth of rural older adults in China. Older age, female sex, and hypertension were associated with a decreased likelihood of EDS, while depressive symptoms, high OSA risk, and poor sleep quality were correlated with an elevated likelihood of EDS.