Self-reported short sleep duration among US adults by disability status and functional disability type: Results from the 2016 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.
Catherine A Okoro, Elizabeth Courtney-Long, Alissa C Cyrus and 2 others
PMID 32008977WHAT IT FOUND
Adults with disabilities are more likely to report short sleep duration than those without.
The risk increases with the number of disability types. Clinicians should routinely ask about sleep health in patients with functional limitations.
Key findings
01After adjusting for demographics and health factors, adults with any disability were 26% more likely to report short sleep duration than adults without disabilities.
02The likelihood of reporting short sleep duration increased with the number of disability types, with those having four or more types being 55% more likely to report short sleep duration than those with no disability.
03Disparities in short sleep duration persisted even after controlling for socioeconomic status, smoking, physical activity, obesity, and frequent mental distress.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study is cross-sectional, so it cannot determine if disability causes short sleep or if short sleep exacerbates disability. Data is self-reported, which introduces potential recall and social desirability biases. The telephone survey excluded institutionalized populations and those whose disabilities prevented them from answering the phone, potentially understating the true prevalence of disability and sleep issues. The analysis did not account for medication use or pain levels, which are significant factors in both disability and sleep duration.
Declared interests
The authors have no conflicts of interest to report for this study.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that short sleep duration is solely caused by the disability itself or that treating the disability will automatically resolve the sleep issue. The study shows an association, not causation, and factors like pain and medication were not controlled for.