The association of continuous-use medications and sleep parameters in a sample of working adults

• Published in: Sleep & breathing Vol. 25; no. 4; pp. 2205 - 2212
• Main Authors: Campanini, Marcela Zambrim, González, Alberto Duran, de Andrade, Selma Maffei, Girotto, Edmarlon, Cabrera, Marcos Aparecido Sarriá, Cavero-Redondo, Iván, Mesas, Arthur Eumann
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01.12.2021; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Actigraphy; Adult; Aged; Brazil - epidemiology; Cross-Sectional Studies; Dentistry; Humans; Internal Medicine; Latency; Male; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Middle Aged; Morbidity; Neurology; Otorhinolaryngology; Pediatrics; Pneumology/Respiratory System; Polypharmacy; Population studies; Psychiatrics • Original Article; School Teachers - statistics & numerical data; Self Report; Sleep; Sleep Quality; Sleep Wake Disorders - drug therapy; Sleep Wake Disorders - epidemiology; Sleep Wake Disorders - physiopathology; Brazil; Actigraphy; Schoolteachers; Sleep; Polypharmacy; Drug therapy; Epidemiology
• ISSN: 1520-9512; 1522-1709
• DOI: 10.1007/s11325-021-02343-x

Purpose Although polypharmacy is linked to health outcomes in the elderly, the use of multiple medications is increasing in middle-aged adults. This study analyzed whether or not the increased number of continuous-use medications (C-UM) is associated with objective and subjective sleep parameters in a working population. Methods Cross-sectional study with schoolteachers from public schools in Londrina, Brazil. The participants were classified according to the self-reported number of C-UM. Sleep data were obtained with actigraphy and a concomitant sleep diary for 7 days. The analyses were adjusted for socio-demographic, lifestyle, and morbidity variables. Results A total of 17% of the participants were classified as using ≥3C-UM. In fully adjusted analyses, the use of ≥3C-UM was associated with lower actigraphic sleep duration (<6 h) (odds ratio [OR] = 2.51; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.01,6.21), higher actigraphic sleep onset latency (SOL) (OR = 2.65; 95%CI = 1.00,7.02), and with a higher number of awakenings during sleep measured by actigraphy (OR = 3.30; 95%CI = 1.32,8.28). The use of ≥3 C-UM was also associated with higher SOL (OR = 3.76; 95%CI = 1.36,10.5) and lower sleep efficiency (OR = 11.6; 95%CI = 2.92,46.1), as measured with the sleep diary. A 1-unit increment in the number of continuous-use medications was associated with higher self-reported SOL and lower subjective sleep efficiency. Conclusion The continuous use of ≥3 medications is associated with worse objective and subjective parameters of sleep duration and quality in schoolteachers.