Objective

Evidence regarding sleep quality in older adults residing in urban and rural areas is lacking among Latino populations living outside the United States. The purpose of the study was to compare the perceived sleep quality of older adults from Costa Rica in urban and rural areas.

Methods

Volunteers were 52 urban and 30 rural older adults who completed anthropometric measures, cognitive screening, demographic information, and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index questionnaire (PSQI). Non-parametric Mann-Whitney U tests determined differences on subjective sleep quality, sleep latency, sleep duration, habitual sleep efficiency, sleep disturbances, use of sleep medication, sleep daily dysfunction, and global PSQI. Multiple regression analyses determined sociodemographic predictors of sleep quality.

Results

Regardless of the residency zone, older adults showed similar subjective sleep quality (p=0.077), sleep latency (p=0.863), sleep duration (p=0.316), sleep efficiency (p=0.613), use of sleep medication (p=0.207), and total PSQI score (p=0.270). Sleep perturbation (p=0.009) and sleep daily dysfunction (p=0.019) were higher in rural than in urban older adults. Education predicted sleep perturbation (p=-0.266, p=0.049, R2 =0.17). Age (p=-0.309, p=0.025) and residency region (P=0.346, p=0.024) predicted sleep daily dysfunction (R2=0.196).

Conclusion

Most sleep quality measures were similar between older adults residing in urban and rural zones. Low education predicted sleep perturbation regardless of the residency zone; and younger age and urban zone predicted higher sleep daily dysfunction.