The Association Between Gait Speed and Sleep Problems Among Chinese Adults Aged 50 and Greater

OBJECTIVE: The relationship between sleep problems and walking speed has been less explored. The present cross-sectional study was to investigate the association between sleep quality and sleep duration and gait speed in Chinese adults. METHODS: A total of 13,367 participants were recruited in this cross-sectional study, retrieving the data from the Global Aging and Adult Health Survey (SAGE). Gait speed was measured using the 4-m walking test. Age, sex, education years, smoking status, alcohol consumption, physical activity, chronic disease, sleep problems were self-reported by participants. To explore the association between sleep problems and gait speed, multivariate linear regression models were employed. RESULTS: In the adjusted model, poor sleep quality and longer sleep duration were significantly associated with slower normal walking speed in Chinese adults (p < 0.001). Moreover, there were negatively significant associations between normal gait speed and sleep quality in male adults (p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that slower normal walking speed was associated with poor sleep quality and longer sleep duration (>8 h) in Chinese male adults.