Mutambudzi Miriam, van Solinge Hanna
Department of Public Health, Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics, Syracuse University, New York, USA.
Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute (NIDI-KNAW), The Hague, The Netherlands.
Gerontologist. 2021 Nov 15;61(8):1287-1295. doi: 10.1093/geront/gnab042.
Sleep problems are a public health burden and have adverse health consequences in older adults. Despite sleep being a shared biological process between couples, to date, there have not been any studies that have assessed the association between retirement and sleep in older couples. The objective of this study was to examine the impact of retirement on diagnosed sleep problems in older Dutch couples.
This study used data from 2 waves of the Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute Pension Panel Study for older Dutch adults living with a partner (n = 3,726). Logistic regression models examined the strength of association between retirement and sleep problems, while accounting for the moderating role of relationship characteristics.
Retirement was associated with decreased odds of sleep problems at Wave 2 (odds ratio [OR] = 0.60, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] = 0.46-0.78). Lower relationship quality was associated with increased odds of sleep problems in the fully adjusted model (OR = 1.81, 95% CI = 1.32-2.49). Having a partner with sleep problems was associated with an increased risk of sleep problems as well (OR = 1.51, 95% CI = 1.07-2.13). There was evidence of effect modification by relationship quality (OR = 1.87, 95% CI = 1.05-3.31).
Retirement and sleep do not occur in a social vacuum and have implications beyond the individual level. More research is therefore needed to understand the impact of sleep and its health consequences on older coupled workers. Such research may provide valuable insights for the management and treatment of sleep problems and may have implications for the public health of aging communities.
睡眠问题是一项公共卫生负担，对老年人的健康会产生不良影响。尽管睡眠是夫妻间共有的生理过程，但迄今为止，尚无任何研究评估过退休与老年夫妻睡眠之间的关联。本研究的目的是检验退休对荷兰老年夫妻已确诊睡眠问题的影响。
本研究使用了荷兰跨学科人口研究所养老金面板研究两波数据，对象为与伴侣同住的荷兰老年人（n = 3726）。逻辑回归模型在考虑关系特征调节作用的同时，检验了退休与睡眠问题之间的关联强度。
在第2波研究中，退休与睡眠问题几率降低相关（优势比[OR]=0.60，95%置信区间[95%CI]=0.46 - 0.78）。在完全调整模型中，较低的关系质量与睡眠问题几率增加相关（OR = 1.81，95%CI = 1.32 - 2.49）。伴侣有睡眠问题也与睡眠问题风险增加相关（OR = 1.51，95%CI = 1.07 - 2.13）。有证据表明关系质量存在效应修正（OR = 1.87，95%CI = 1.05 - 3.31）。
退休和睡眠并非发生在社会真空中，其影响超出个体层面。因此，需要更多研究来了解睡眠及其健康后果对老年在职夫妇的影响。此类研究可能为睡眠问题的管理和治疗提供有价值的见解，并可能对老龄化社区的公共卫生产生影响。
