Objective: Sleep is important for diabetes-related health outcomes. Using a multidimensional sleep health framework, we examined the association of individual sleep health dimensions and a composite sleep health score with hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) and depressive symptoms among African American adults with type 2 diabetes.
Methods: Participants (N = 257; mean age = 62.5 years) were recruited through local churches. Wrist-worn actigraphy and sleep questionnaire data assessed multidimensional sleep health using the RuSATED framework (regularity, satisfaction, alertness, timing, efficiency, duration). Individual sleep dimensions were dichotomized into poor or good sleep health and summed into a composite score. HbA1c was assessed using the DCA Vantage™ Analyzer or A1CNow® Self Check. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). Regression models examined the association of individual sleep dimensions and composite sleep health with HbA1c and depressive symptoms.
Results: Higher composite sleep health scores were associated with a lower likelihood of having greater than minimal depressive symptoms (PHQ-9 ≥ 5) (odds ratio [OR] = 0.578, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.461-0.725). Several individual sleep dimensions, including irregularity (OR = 1.013, CI = 1.005-1.021), poor satisfaction (OR = 3.130, CI = 2.095-4.678), and lower alertness (OR = 1.866, CI = 1.230-2.833) were associated with a greater likelihood of having depressive symptoms. Neither composite sleep health scores nor individual sleep dimensions were associated with HbA1c.
Conclusions: Better multidimensional sleep health is associated with lower depressive symptoms among African American adults with type 2 diabetes. Longitudinal research is needed to determine the causal association between multidimensional sleep health and depressive symptoms in this population.
Trial registry: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT04282395.
Copyright © 2024 by the American Psychosomatic Society.