Association between sleep duration and mental health among disabled population over the three-year follow-ups

Abstract

Background: Studies have reported that adults with disabilities reported frequents mental distress and duration of sleep was associated with mental health. Thus, this study investigated the longitudinal associations between sleep duration and mental health in disabled population in South Korea. Methods: The 1st-3rd data for 2nd wave of Panel Survey of Employment for the Disabled (PSED) data included 3,742 samples who responded three-year surveys. The association between sleep duration and mental health was examined using Chi-square test and trajectory analysis using generalized estimating equation (GEE) model. Results: Of the 650 participants with depressive symptom, 199 participants with sleep duration of below 6 h or over 8 h were significantly higher in the symptom compared to those with sleep duration of 7 h. In the trajectory analysis, group with the highest level of sleep duration had the highest risk of depressive symptom and that with the lowest level of sleep duration had the highest risk of perceived stress out of all groups. Conclusions: These findings reveal the need for effective management to promote optimal duration of sleep by evaluating the sleep characteristics of the disabled.

Keywords

• Sleep duration
• Depressive symptom
• Perceived stress
• Mental health