Sleep quality and falls in middle-aged and older adults: ELSI-Brazil study

Objective: To verify the association between low self-reported sleep quality (LSQ) and fall in middle-aged and older adults every half-decade of life. Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted using data from the first wave (2015–2016) of the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Aging (ELSI-Brazil), which is nationally representative. The sample consisted of 8,950 participants who were allocated into eight age groups: 50–54, 55–59, 60–64, 65–69, 70–74, 75–79, 80–84, and ≥ 85 years. The questionnaires used included self-reported sleep quality and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire short version. Fisher’s exact test followed by binary logistic regression analysis was performed to identify the odds ratio of sleep quality for fall occurrence, controlled for confounding variables. Results: Individuals aged 50–105 years (63.6 ± 10.2 years), 57.0% females and 43.0% males, participated in this study. Overall, 21.5% of participants experienced at least one fall. The relative frequency of participants classified as having high or LSQ remained constant across each half-decade of life. The LSQ exhibited a statistically significant OR (p < 0.05) for falls across age groups up to 84, even after accounting for confounding variables. Conclusion: LSQ is significantly associated with an increased occurrence of fall in adults aged >50 years, but not for ≥ 85 years regardless of sex and physical activity level.