Research Article: Ambient fine-particulate air pollution associates with short sleep duration among 2,082 community-dwelling older adults: findings from a large-scale questionnaire survey
Abstract:
Short sleep duration is widespread in China’s aging population, yet the contribution of ambient fine-particulate matter (PM?.?) remains uncertain. We investigated whether chronic PM?.? exposure associates with habitual short sleep duration.
Within a hospital-based outreach program we surveyed 2082 community-dwelling adults aged ?60?years in Nanchong and Chongqing (January–December 2024). Annual PM?.? (1?km 2 resolution) was estimated via a validated satellite–ground-fusion model; sleep duration was self-reported using the Chinese version of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, which has been culturally adapted and validated against actigraphy ( ? =?0.62). Short sleep duration was predefined as <6?h night ?1 . Mixed-effects logistic regression, adjusted for socioeconomic, lifestyle, cardiometabolic and environmental covariates, quantified associations per 10??g?m ?3 increment and across exposure strata (<35, 35–50, and >50??g?m ?3 ). Restricted cubic splines explored non-linearity, while population-attributable fractions and C-index shifts appraised public-health impact and predictive gain.
Mean PM?.? was 44.1?±?12.5??g?m ?3 ; 27.3% of participants reported short sleep duration. Each 10??g?m ?3 rise in PM?.? increased short-sleep odds by 12% (adjusted OR 1.12, 95% CI 1.04–1.20). Compared with <35??g?m ?3 , exposure >50??g?m ?3 conferred 51% higher odds (OR 1.51, 1.18–1.94). The relationship was monotonic and approximately log-linear. Achieving PM?.????35??g?m ?3 could avert 24% of short-sleep cases; introducing PM?.? improved discrimination from 0.55 to 0.57 ( ? 0.02).
Chronic PM?.? exposure is a modifiable, dose-dependent driver of short sleep duration in older Chinese adults. Air-quality control may yield meaningful sleep-health dividends.
Introduction:
Short sleep duration has emerged as a pervasive, yet often under-recognized, geriatric health concern. In this study we focus specifically on short sleep duration, defined as self-reported nightly sleep of fewer than 6?h, and do not directly assess sleep fragmentation or other dimensions of sleep quality. Contemporary nationwide surveys indicate that nearly one in three Chinese adults aged ? 60?years habitually sleeps fewer than 6 h per night, a pattern independently linked to heightened risks of type 2 diabetes,…
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