Prospective associations between change in sleep duration and cognitive impairment: Findings from the Singapore Chinese Health Study

Background: The relation of changes in sleep duration with risk of cognitive impairment are inconclusive. This study evaluated the prospective relationships of changes in sleep duration with risk of cognitive impairment in Singapore Chinese.

Methods: We used data from 16,948 Chinese men and women who were aged 45-74 years at baseline (1993-1998) during recruitment into the Singapore Chinese Health Study cohort. Daily sleep duration was assessed at baseline, follow-up 2 (2006 to 2010) and follow-up 3 interviews (2014-2016). Cognitive function was evaluated with a Singapore-Modified Mini-Mental State Examination at follow-up 3 interviews when participants were 61-96 years old. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to calculate odd ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) for cognitive impairment.

Results: Of the 16,948 participants, 14.4% were defined to have cognitive impairment. Compared with 7 h/day sleep at both baseline and follow-up 2, the OR (95% CI) for cognitive impairment was 1.50 (1.04-2.16) for those who maintained long sleep duration (≥9 h/day), 2.18 (1.37-3.45) for those who prolonged sleep from short duration (≤5 h/day) to long duration (≥9 h/day), and 1.55 (1.20-2.02) for those who prolonged sleep from recommended duration (7 h/day) to long duration. The highest risk was observed in those who shortened sleep from long to short duration (2.93, 1.35-6.34).

Limitations: Measures of sleep were self-reported.

Conclusions: Substantial changes in sleep duration over time were associated with higher risks of cognitive impairment. The findings underscore the importance of maintaining optimal sleep duration for the prevention of cognitive impairment.