The Association between Psychological Distress and Self-Reported Sleep Duration in a Population-Based Sample of Women and Men

الملخص EN

Mental health and sleep are intricately linked.

This study characterized associations of psychological distress with short (≤6 hours) and long (≥9 hours) sleep duration among adults aged ≥18 years.

2013 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data ( n = 36 ,859) from Colorado, Minnesota, Nevada, Tennessee, and Washington included the Kessler 6 (K6) scale, which has been psychometrically validated for measuring severe psychological distress (SPD); three specifications were evaluated.

Overall, 4.0% of adults reported SPD, 33.9% reported short sleep, and 7.8% reported long sleep.

After adjustment, adults with SPD had 1.58 (95% CI: 1.45, 1.72) and 1.39 (95% CI: 1.08, 1.79) times higher probability of reporting short and long sleep duration, respectively.

Using an ordinal measure showed a dose-response association with prevalence ratios of 1.00, 1.16, 1.38, 1.67, and 2.11 for short sleep duration.

Each additional point added to the K6 scale was associated with 1.08 (95% CI: 1.07, 1.10) and 1.02 (95% CI: 1.00, 1.03) times higher probability of reporting short and long sleep duration, respectively.

Some results were statistically different by gender.

Any psychological distress, not only SPD, was associated with a higher probability of short sleep duration but not long sleep duration.

These findings highlight the need for interventions.