Association of sleep disorders with current marital status among Indian population aged 45 years and above: insight from longitudinal aging study India

One reliable sociodemographic predictor of sleep is marital status. Being lonely, separated, residing away from a spouse may have distinct consequences, particularly for middle-aged and older persons. The objective is to determine the association between sleep disorders and current marital status among Indian population aged 45 years and above, stratified into gender and age group. Longitudinal ageing study in India (LASI) is an ongoing cohort study to collect information on health aspects of ageing in India. Current study is conducted using 1st wave of LASI data set (April 2017 to December 2018). Sleep disorders including sleep disturbance was assessed using the Jenkin Sleep Scale (JSS-4). It covers four sleep related questions in last one month and participants were classified as presence or absence of sleep disorder. We have assessed the association of sleep disorder (outcome/ response variable) with current marital status (explanatory/ exposure variable) adjusted with covariate using multivariable logistic regression. P value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. STATA version 17 was used for analysis. Sleep disorder was highest among participants in live-in relationship (15.88%) followed by married but living alone (14.31%) and widowed (4.79%). The odds of having sleep disorder were significantly higher among participants in live-in relationship (1.97 times, aOR (95%CI): 1.97 (1.30–2.99)); followed by widowed (1.44 times, aOR (95%CI): 1.44 (1.29–1.61)) and married but living alone (1.41 times, aOR (95%CI): 1.41 (1.02–1.94)) with respect to never married participants.. Overall, it was higher among females (1.10 times, aOR (95% CI): 1.10 (1.04–1.18)) and elderly (1.19 times, aOR (95% CI): 1.19 (1.13–1.26)). Similar patterns were observed in trouble in falling asleep, waking up during mid night and unrested during daytime; except for waking up early in the morning, where lowers odds (44% lower, aOR (95%CI: 0.56 (0.36–0.89))) were documented in live-in relationship. Marital status significantly influenced sleep quality among middle-aged and elderly Indians, with higher sleep disorders among females and elderly. We recommend feasibility studies followed by small-scale randomized controlled trials of behavioral and psychosocial interventions, particularly targeting participants in live-in relationship, widowed and those living alone. Such trials might provide actionable evidence for public health strategies.