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To investigate the characteristics and subjective quality of sleep, the use of hypnotics and their correlates in an urban elderly population, a structured interview was administered to a stratified random sample of 600 elderly subjects in five age groups. Interrupted sleep and napping were common; nonetheless, 88% of the subjects considered their sleep at least satisfactory. According to specific criteria, 17% were good, 72% moderate and 11% poor sleepers. Habitual insomnia was reported by 12% of the subjects. Quality of sleep did not differ between age groups or genders. Hypnotics were habitually used by 8% of the men and 25% of the women. Consumption increased with age in both sexes, and 77% of the hypnotics were benzodiazepines. In multivariate regression analyses, insomnia and habitual use of hypnotics were associated with poor health, but only the latter with age and gender. As a conclusion, most of the subjects considered their sleep satisfactory, and aging itself did not seem to have an effect on the quality of sleep. The use of hypnotics was common, more prevalent in women and increased with age. Aging and poor health were independently associated with the use of hypnotics, but not with poor quality of sleep or insomnia.

Nocturnal motor breathing and cardiac activity were recorded by using the static charge-sensitive bed, and sleep habits were studied by questionnaire in 24 pairs of monozygotic twins discordant for their body mass index; the mean intrapair difference between co-twins was 6.7 kg/m2. Intrapair differences in sleep characteristics between co-twins were related to intrapair differences in physiological and anthropometric characteristics. Two questions were tested. First, do monozygotic twins discordant for body mass index differ in sleep behavior? Second, if they do, are differences in sleep associated with nongenetic differences in the body weight and metabolism or with other environmental factors? Obese twins had higher nocturnal motor activity levels, less quiet sleep, and more habitual snoring than did their nonobese co-twins. Differences in sleep were associated with obesity-related factors. However, habitual snoring did not explain other intrapair differences in sleep. It was concluded that relatively moderate obesity is associated with disruption of physiological structure of sleep as measured by the static charge-sensitive bed method and that this disruption seems not to be associated with snoring or breathing disturbances.

Multiple sleep latency test (MSLT)-defined daytime sleepiness and its relationships with nocturnal and daytime psychophysiological activation were investigated in a random community sample of 77 subjects aged 35-55 years. The correlation structure between all study variables was explained by a simple model of daytime sleepiness. The model suggested that indicators of psychophysiological arousal (psychological distress, nocturnal motor activity and serum thyrotropin level) and daytime reported tiredness, body mass index (BMI) and age were related significantly and independently to MSLT-defined daytime sleepiness. The arousal theory of insomnia and poor sleep in relation to MSLT behavior is discussed and the need of a multivariate approach is emphasized in MSLT studies.

The effect of chronic illness on the subjective quality of sleep, and the use of hypnotics was studied in a stratified random sample of elderly people. Six hundred subjects aged 65 years or over were included in the study. A structured interview on the quality of sleep and medical history was carried out. In addition, the majority of diagnoses were confirmed from the national health insurance documents of the subjects. Logistic regression analysis disclosed that only perceived poor health and peptic ulcer or esophagitis were associated with perceived poor sleep. Age did not contribute to the quality of sleep. Age over 80 years and the presence of peptic ulcer or esophagitis, heart failure, cholelithiasis, and, in particular, depression were associated with the habitual use of hypnotics. The results stress the importance of perceived poor general health status, and acid-related gastrointestinal diseases as the determinants of subjective poor sleep, rather than age or many specific somatic diseases as such. On the other hand, depression is a major determinant for the habitual use of hypnotics.

Objective To examine how different dimensions of social capital and health behaviour are associated. Design Cross-sectional data of the Health 2000 Health Examination Survey including a personal interview and self-administered questionnaires. Setting Representative sample (N=8028) of the Finnish adult population. Participants 6986 (87%) adults aged 30 years or over. Main Outcome Measures Non-smoking, non-excessive drinking, leisure-time physical activity, daily use of vegetables, adequate duration of sleep. Results Social capital was found to be associated with health behaviour. The dimension of social participation and networks was positively associated with every type of health behaviour. High levels of trust and reciprocity were related to non-smoking and adequate duration of sleep, and high levels of social support to adequate duration of sleep and daily use of vegetables. These associations persisted after controlling for age, gender, education and living arrangements. According to our findings, structural social capital seems to be associated with health behaviour more strongly than cognitive social capital. Conclusion Irrespective of their social status, people with higher levels of social capital—especially in social participation and networks—engage in healthier behaviour. When trying to reduce health inequalities, one strategy could be to promote social participation especially among people in danger of social exclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]