Sleep Duration Tied to Dementia, Death in Older Adults (Correction)

A study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society found short and long daily sleep duration, as well as hypnotics, are risk factors for dementia and death in Japanese seniors, reports Healio . The researchers examined the link between self-reported daily sleep duration and dementia and mortality risk in community-dwelling adults 60 years and older without dementia. The investigators grouped participants into categories based on their daily sleep duration, including less than five hours per day, five to 6.9 hours, seven to 7.9 hours, eight to 9.9 hours, and 10 hours or more. In general, 294 participants developed dementia and 282 died during follow-up. There were significantly higher incidence rates of dementia and all-cause mortality in seniors who reported sleeping less than five hours per day and 10 hours or more per day compared with those who reported daily sleep duration of five to 6.9 hours. These associations were consistent when adjusting for other confounders in those who reported daily sleep duration of less than five hours and in those who reported 10 hours or more. Moreover, older adults who used hypnotics and had any sleep duration had a 1.66 times higher risk for developing dementia and a 1.83 times higher risk for mortality versus non-hypnotics users who reported five to 6.9 hours of daily sleep. The story, which appeared in yesterday's edition, incorrectly said that "hypnosis" was a risk factor for dementia. It should have said "hypnotics."