0288 The Relationship Between Baseline Pain Interference and Sleep After Non-Cardiac Surgery in Older Adults

Abstract Introduction Sleep disturbances are common among older adults undergoing major surgery, yet factors that influence postoperative sleep remain unclear. Pain interference—how pain disrupts daily functioning—is prevalent in this population and may affect sleep outcomes after surgery. To address this gap, we examined whether greater baseline pain interference was associated with greater deterioration in sleep quality from baseline to one month postoperatively. Methods A cohort of 40 older adults (≥70 years) scheduled for total knee, total hip, or spine surgery, was recruited, completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) one week before surgery(baseline) and again at 1 month postoperatively. Pain interference was measured using the PROMIS Pain Interference T-score. The primary outcome was change in sleep quality from baseline to 1 month. We conducted linear regression analyses to examine whether baseline pain interference predicted postoperative changes in PSQI scores. Additional factors evaluated included age, sex, baseline PSQI score, and surgical type (joint, general and vascular surgery). Results Greater baseline pain interference was associated with higher PSQI score after adjusting for age, sex, and baseline (β = 0.13, SE = 0.05, p = 0.018). However, after including surgical type in the model, the association was attenuated and became statistically significant (β = 0.11, SE = 0.06, p = 0.077). Surgical type was not associated with postoperative sleep change. Conclusion These preliminary findings suggest that older adults with greater preoperative pain interference may experience larger declines in sleep quality up to a month after non cardiac surgery. Future Analysis with larger sample, longer follow ups (3-12 months) and additional adjustments for postoperative health status, and repeated pain and sleep assessments is warranted to assess the longitudinal relationship between pain and sleep trajectories after surgery. Support (if any) Alzheimer's Association Clinician Scientist Fellowship (AACSF-23-1148490 to L.G)