Gender and socioeconomic differences in sleep problems among older adults (50+) in India: evidence from WHO-SAGE

ABSTRACT

This study examined the gender differences in sleep problems among older adults in India. We also examined the role of socioeconomic status in determining the gender differences in sleep. Individuals aged 50 years and above (N = 6560) from the first wave of WHO’s Study on global Ageing and Adult Health (SAGE) – 2007 were studied using bivariate analysis and multivariate logistic regression. In the fully adjusted regression model, older women in India were 46% more likely to report sleep problems than men. Educated and wealthier older adults had fewer sleep problems compared to their counterparts. Further, the gender difference in sleep problems is largely driven by lower socioeconomic status. There are no gender differences in sleep problems among older adults in 6–9 and 10+ years of schooling as well as middle, fourth and fifth wealth quintile (richest) categories. Gender differences could be explained further with women’s mental health (cognitive function, depressive symptoms, stress etc.) and managing their overall physical health and multiple roles demands at the household level in India. Interventions focusing on women in lower socioeconomic strata will be beneficial to reduce the sleep problems in the context of the population ageing in India.

KEYWORDS:

• Older adults
• socioeconomic
• gender
• sleep problems
• India

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Data Availability Statement

This study used the WHO-SAGE Wave 1 data available in the public domain for use by researchers (http://www. who.int/healthinfo/sage/en/).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Notes on contributors

Ritu Rani

Ritu Rani (MPhil) is a doctoral fellow at International Institute for Population Sciences. She is interested in studying mental health, social epidemiology, gender roles and effect of environmental factors on older adults’ health in low- and middle-income countries.

Y. Selvamani

Y Selvamani (PhD) is currently working as an Assistant Professor, School of Public Health at SRM Institute of Technology. His area of research involves social epidemiology, ageing and life course epidemiology.

Ankit Sikarwar

Ankit Sikarwa (MPhil) is a doctoral student at International Institute for Population Sciences. His research includes spatial demography, urbanization, migration and health.