Psychiatry Investig.  2017 Jul;14(4):400-406. 10.4306/pi.2017.14.4.400.

Factors Associated with Insomnia among the Elderly in a Korean Rural Community

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Psychiatry, Seonam University College of Medicine, Myongji Hospital, Goyang, Republic of Korea.
  • 2Institute of Behavioral Science in Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea. leeeun@yuhs.ac
  • 3Department of Sociology, Yonsei University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
  • 4Department of Psychiatry,Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
  • 5Department of Preventive Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
  • 6Division of Silver Industry, Kangnam University, Yongin, Republic of Korea.
  • 7Department of Clinical Nursing Science, Yonsei University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.

Abstract


OBJECTIVE
Sleep disturbance is common in the elderly, which is result from multi-factorial causes encompassing socio-demographic, behavioral, and clinical factors. We aimed to identify factors associated with insomnia among the elderly in a rural community in South Korea, a country with a rapidly growing aged population.
METHODS
This cross-sectional study used the data from the second wave of the Korean Social life, Health and Ageing Project, which is a cohort study of individuals living in a typical rural community in South Korea. Socio-demographic, behavioral, and clinical characteristics were obtained through face-to-face interviews. Various factors suspected to be associated with insomnia were compared between elderly participants with and without insomnia, and multiple logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify independent risk factors for insomnia.
RESULTS
We found that 32.4% of 509 participants (72.8±7.7 years old) had insomnia. Female sex [odds ratio (OR)=2.19], low education level (OR=2.44), current smoking (OR=2.26), number of chronic diseases (OR=2.21 for 2-3 chronic diseases; OR=2.06 for 4 or more chronic diseases), and depression (OR=2.53) were independently associated with insomnia.
CONCLUSION
We found that sex, education, chronic disease, and depression independently increase the risk of insomnia of the elderly in a Korean rural community. To overcome the elderly's insomnia, interventions should target modifiable factors such as depression. To promote active aging, longitudinal studies of factors associated with insomnia among the elderly should be performed in different regions and communities.

Keyword

Insomnia; Aged; Depression; Rural population; Republic of Korea

MeSH Terms

Aged*
Aging
Chronic Disease
Cohort Studies
Cross-Sectional Studies
Depression
Education
Female
Humans
Korea
Logistic Models
Longitudinal Studies
Republic of Korea
Risk Factors
Rural Population*
Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders*
Smoke
Smoking
Smoke
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