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Studying the relationship between insomnia and sleep disorders with hypertension: a report from community-dwelling older adults living in Tehran, Iran

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Abstract

Introduction

Sleep disorders are common health problems in the elderly. One of the unusual and often overlooked risk factors for hypertension is insomnia. Therefore, this study investigated the relationships between insomnia and sleep problems with hypertension in the elderly population living in Tehran, Iran.

Materials and methods

In this cross-sectional study conducted in 2017, 450 elderly individuals (aged ≥ 60 years) living in households were randomly selected from five areas in the city of Tehran, Iran, via a multi-stage sampling method (stratified and clustered). Their sleep status and hypertension were examined using a self-reported comprehensive questionnaire to assess the physical, mental, and spiritual health needs of the elderly. The utilized questionnaire was designed and previously psychometrically validated. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression models assessed the responses regarding sleep and hypertension along with other variables to explore their relationships.

Results

450 elderly individuals were recruited, of which 52.7% were men, and 47.3% were women. The mean age of the participants was 70.1 ± 7.3 years, and About 74.2% of participants were in the 60 to 74 years old, age group. Hypertension had a statistically significant relationship with insomnia. For one unit of increase in better sleep status score, hypertension decreased by 4% (OR = 0.96, P = 0.017).

Conclusion

It seems that in preventive and therapeutic interventions related to insomnia, the risk of hypertension in the elderly should be considered, and their blood pressure should be monitored and constantly controlled. We suggest a more clinically accurate approach to insomnia, sleep disorders, and hypertension and further evaluation of variables such as sleep duration and obstructive sleep apnea in future studies.

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Data availability

The datasets regarding the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Basic Medical Sciences Department, Iranian Research Center on Ageing, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Sima Ghasemi

  2. Health Promotion, School of Public Health and Safety, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Nastaran Keshavarz Mohammadi

  3. Experimental Medicine Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Ali Bitaraf

  4. Cardiovascular Diseases Research Institute, Tehran Heart Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Aryan Ayati

  5. Elderly Health Research Center, Endocrinology and Metabolism Population Sciences Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Farshad Sharifi

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  1. Sima Ghasemi
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Correspondence to Farshad Sharifi.

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Ethical approval

The approval of the Ethics Committee of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, with the No. 1393, 682, SBMU.REC was obtained. Also, written consent was obtained from all elderly participants in the study.

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Ghasemi, S., Mohammadi, N.K., Bitaraf, A. et al. Studying the relationship between insomnia and sleep disorders with hypertension: a report from community-dwelling older adults living in Tehran, Iran. J Diabetes Metab Disord (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40200-024-01390-x

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