Back pain can lead to worse sleep years later in men over 65, a new study suggests.
Researchers found that men suffering from back pain were more likely to develop sleep problems over time. The relationship appeared to run in one direction: back pain first, then poor sleep.
“We know that back pain and sleep are serious issues for older adults,” said Soomi Lee, associate professor of human development and family studies at Penn State University and lead of the study.
“We studied data collected over several years to understand whether poor sleep could predict back pain or if back pain could predict poor sleep, and we found it was the latter,” she added.
According to Lee, the fact that back pain appears to precede sleep problems suggests that effective pain management may be necessary for quality sleep, and preventing broader health problems.
The study published in the journal Innovation in Aging, draws on data from the long-running Osteoporotic Fractures in Men study, which follows older men to understand how they age and develop chronic conditions.
The researchers analysed data from 1,055 older men who underwent clinical sleep assessments six or more years apart, and answered questions on the severity and frequency of back pain every four months between the sleep studies.
Using the self-report back pain data, the research team compared participants’ sleep problems between the two sleep assessments.
They found that back pain predicted a 12 percent to 25 percent increase in the men’s sleep problems six years later.
Beyond the hours of sleep, the study looked at issues such as irregular sleep schedules, trouble staying asleep, and excessive daytime sleepiness.
One-way relationship
The Penn State study also explored a possible two-way relationship between back pain and sleep problems. However, after analysing the data, they found that sleep problems did not predict future back pain.
The researchers note that findings are based on observational data from mainly white, older men, meaning results may not apply in the same way to women or more diverse populations.
“If caregivers or loved ones see back pain issues, this can be a warning sign,” Lee said.
He added that older people should acknowledge their back pain problems so that they can prevent future sleep problems and the other health issues linked to inadequate sleep, including memory problems, depression, anxiety and falling.
Quality sleep in older people is strongly linked to better physical health, slower cognitive decline, and reduced mortality risk.
Recent studies have shown that people with chronic insomnia, or those who have trouble sleeping at least three nights per week for three months or more, are 40 percent more likely to develop dementia or mild cognitive problems than people who sleep normally.