The relationship between sleep patterns and the risk of edentulism: evidence from the CHARLS

Abstract Background Edentulism is a common disease among the elderly. The relationship between sleep patterns and edentulism has not been fully explored. Methods This study utilized baseline and follow-up data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) conducted in 2011 and 2015-participants aged 45 or above. The outcome variable was self-reported edentulism. Independent variables included nap duration, nighttime sleep duration, and sleep quality. The association between edentulism and sleep patterns was evaluated using multivariable logistic regression analysis. To further explore the potential non-linear relationship between nighttime sleep duration and the risk of edentulism, restricted cubic spline (RCS) regression was performed with nighttime sleep duration treated as a continuous variable. Subgroup analysis by gender and age, and introduce interaction terms into the Multivariable logistic regression analysis. Results 466 of the 9732 participants were edentulous. After adjusting for potential confounders, participants with short nighttime sleep duration had a 34.5% higher risk of edentulism than those with normal nighttime sleep duration (OR: 1.345; 95% CI:1.097–1.653). RCS regression demonstrates dose–response relationship. Subgroup analyses revealed a significant association between short nighttime sleep duration and edentulism in both men (OR: 3.89; 95% CI: 2.75–6.24) and women (OR: 4.25; 95% CI: 2.99–6.86), as well as in individuals aged ≥65 years (OR: 5.26; 95% CI: 3.25–10.72). Interaction analyses showed no significant interaction between nighttime sleep duration and gender or age. Conclusion Short nightly sleep duration may be closely connected to the prevalence of edentulism in people of middle age and older age.