SEX DIFFERENCES IN MULTI-DIMENSIONAL SLEEP HEALTH AND DEMENTIA RISK: A PROSPECTIVE STUDY IN THE UK BIOBANK
2024

Sleep Health and Dementia Risk: Differences Between Men and Women

Sample size: 409789 publication Evidence: moderate

Author Information

Author(s): Huang Tianyi, Beydoun May, Launer Lenore

Primary Institution: National Institute on Aging, Baltimore, Maryland, United States

Hypothesis

Sex differences in sleep health risk factors may contribute to differences in dementia risk between women and men.

Conclusion

Most sleep health dimensions were differentially associated with dementia risk in women and men.

Supporting Evidence

  • The prevalence of insomnia symptoms and non-restorative sleep was 7-8% higher in women.
  • Sleepiness and napping were more common in men.
  • There were 7,583 incident dementia cases identified during the study.
  • The increased dementia risk associated with sleepiness was higher in women.
  • The association between non-restorative sleep and dementia risk was stronger in men.

Takeaway

This study found that men and women experience different sleep issues, which can affect their risk of getting dementia.

Methodology

The study analyzed self-reported sleep traits and identified incident dementia cases through health records over a median follow-up of 13.8 years.

Participant Demographics

409,789 dementia-free UK Biobank participants (55% women).

Statistical Information

Confidence Interval

1.35, 1.86; 1.04, 1.40; 1.17, 1.39; 1.26, 1.52

Statistical Significance

p-interaction by sex=0.01; p-interaction by sex=0.06

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1093/geroni/igae098.4359

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