A population-based study in Korea found that both short sleep duration and the perception of insufficient sleep were significantly associated with increased risks of anxiety and fatigue among adults.
However, the study showed that depression was not significantly associated with either reported sleep duration or subjective sleep sufficiency.
Investigators analyzed data from 2,492 Korean adults (aged 19–92 years; mean age, 47.9 ± 16.4 years; 49.6% male) who participated in the Korean Sleep Headache Study. Reported sleep patterns were assessed using the Korean Munich Chronotype Questionnaire, which calculated weighted weekly averages of weekday and weekend sleep durations. Subjective sleep sufficiency was determined by responses to the question, “Do you think you are getting enough sleep at night?” and categorized as either “sufficient” or “insufficient.”
Participants sleeping fewer than 7 hours were classified as having inadequate sleep; those with 7 or more hours were categorized as having adequate sleep. Psychiatric symptoms were evaluated using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder–7 (GAD-7) scale for anxiety, the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) for depression, and the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS) for fatigue. Clinical thresholds were defined as scores of 10 or higher for anxiety and depression, and 36 or higher for fatigue.
Overall, 42.87% of participants reported inadequate sleep duration, and 56.11% reported insufficient sleep. After adjustment for sociodemographic, lifestyle, and sleep quality covariates, inadequate sleep duration was significantly associated with greater odds of anxiety and fatigue. Subjective sleep insufficiency was significantly associated with fatigue but not with anxiety or depression.
Participants were further categorized into four sleep subgroups based on adequacy and sufficiency: sufficient adequate sleep (26.67%), insufficient adequate sleep (30.46%), sufficient inadequate sleep (17.22%), and insufficient inadequate sleep (25.65%). Compared with those reporting sufficient adequate sleep, individuals in the insufficient inadequate sleep group had the highest odds of anxiety and fatigue. Those with insufficient adequate sleep also had increased odds of fatigue.
No significant associations were observed between depression and any category of sleep duration or perceived sufficiency.
These findings suggest that both insufficient sleep duration and subjective perceptions of inadequate sleep are associated with psychological symptoms—particularly anxiety and fatigue—highlighting the importance of assessing both objective and perceived sleep characteristics in adults.
Disclosures were not made available.
Source: SLEEP
