Does Sleep Matter? Analyzing the Sleep Problems and Associated Factors in Six Low- and Middle-Income Countries

Ritu Rani , International Institute of Population Sciences (IIPS)
Perianayagam Arokiasamy, International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS)

Research evidence mostly from populations in Western countries points to downward trends in the average duration of sleep and increasingly higher prevalence of insomnia and other sleep disturbances. Poor sleep tends to be affected by various socio-economic-demographic factors. This study examines the associations of these factors with sleep problems (insomnia, sleep duration and sleep quality) across the life course in six countries namely India, China, Ghana, Mexico, Russia and South Africa. Binary, ordered and multinomial logistic regression models were used to determine the impact of socio-economic-demographic factors on sleep problems. Age, sex, education, employment status and income quintile indicated the significant association with the sleep problems. A remarkable sleep disparity exists in the study population. Older adults, females and single, widowed, divorced or separated adults were found more vulnerable to sleep problems. The result shows that disadvantaged social position was mostly related to sleep problems and hence poor health.

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 Presented in Session 11. Health & Mortality 2