Association between all-cause mortality and trajectories across quality and duration of sleep and cognitive function: based on Group-Based Multivariate Trajectory modeling

BACKGROUND: Sleep duration and quality are associated with cognition, but the interaction of the 3 indicators and their association with all-cause mortality is unclear. METHODS: We used data from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey from 2005–2018 to identify latent trajectories of sleep duration, sleep quality, and cognitive function. Secondly, the multinomial logistic model was adopted to determine predictors of trajectory groups. Finally, the Cox regression model was used to examine the association between these trajectory groups and all-cause mortality. RESULTS: A total of 5046 adults (49% women) with an average age of 76.34 were included in the study. The median follow-up period was 11.11 years, during which 1784 (35%) participants died. We identified 4 latent groups among older adults: ‘Good-performance’ (51%), ‘Decreasing’ (26%), ‘Oversleep & cognitive impairment’ (12%), and ‘Sleep-deprived’ (11%). Individuals in the ‘Decreasing’ had a 51% increased risk of all-cause mortality (HR = 1.51, 95% CI: 1.25 – 1.81, p < .001). Individuals in the ‘Oversleep & cognitive impairment’ had a 170% increased risk of all-cause mortality (HR = 2.7 95% CI: 2.13 – 3.43, p < .001). Women had a higher risk of all-cause mortality regardless of trajectory group (47–143% men VS. 74–365% women). Both urban and rural areas have a similarly increased risk of all-cause mortality (48–179%). CONCLUSIONS: Our study reveals the latent trajectories across sleep duration, sleep quality, and cognitive function in older Chinese and further explores their association with death. These findings provide a rational basis for cognitive interventions and reduce all-cause mortality. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12877-023-04231-3.