title: Do sleep complaints predict persistent fatigue in older adults?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the association between sleep complaints, use of sleep-promoting medications, and persistent severe fatigue (PSF).
  
  
  METHODS
  Analysis of data from the National Health Aging Trends Study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Contiguous United States.
  
  
  METHODS
  A representative sample of Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 and older.
  
  
  METHODS
  Difficulty initiating sleep, difficulty staying asleep, use of sleep-promoting medications, demographic characteristics, presence of pain, use of pain medications, depression, chronic medical disease, physical activity level, and Short Physical Performance Battery score measured at baseline. The outcome of interest was PSF (fatigue that limits daily activities reported at baseline and 12-month follow-up).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of 8,245 participants at baseline, 7,075 completed 12-month follow-up; 31% reported severe fatigue at baseline and 31% at follow-up, and 19% reported PSF. In a logistic regression model, difficulty staying asleep some nights (odds ratio (OR) = 1.32, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.08-1.60) and most nights or every night (OR = 1.40, 95% CI = 1.09-1.79) and use of sleep-promoting medications most nights or every night (OR = 1.35, 95% CI = 1.08-1.67) independently predicted PSF.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results indicate greater risk of PSF in older adults with difficulty staying asleep and those who use sleep-promoting medications. These findings underscore the significance of sleep problems and present potential targets for interventional studies that aim to improve fatigue in older adults.
authors: Geriatrics Section, Department of Medicine, Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia.
authors: Yohannes W
authors: YW
authors: Endeshaw
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005221:Fatigue / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006993:Hypnotics and Sedatives / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008297:Male; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy
chemical_list: D006993:Hypnotics and Sedatives
keywords: difficulty falling asleep; difficulty staying asleep; persistent fatigue; use of sleep-promoting medications