Intrarace Group Variability in Characteristics of Self-Reported Pain and Sleep Difficulty in Older African Americans With Arthritis

Abstract

Purpose: Few studies have examined the behavioral and clinical indicators of sleep difficulty among older African Americans diagnosed with arthritis. This study aimed to examine the association of sleep, pain, and comorbid indicators among this population. Method: Using a cross-sectional design, 193 older African Americans (70.4 ± 9.11 years of age) completed a series of questions assessing health, pain, and sleep. Results: Findings showed that young old participants (β = −.28, p < .001) reported more difficulty sleeping and being awakened due to pain (β = −.17, p < .05) than the old old adults. Conclusion: There is significant within-group variability, with young old adults being most affected by sleep difficulties. Implications for Practice: While the relationship between pain and sleep may be intuitive for majority populations, the dynamics of this association may be useful in promoting sleep awareness and providing resources for caregivers and health care professionals to better meet the needs of this population.

Keywords

pain intensity sleep difficulty due to pain older adults African Americans

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Ancoli-Israel

(2009). Sleep and its disorders in aging populations. Sleep Medicine, 10, S7-S11.

Anderson

K. O.

Getto

C. J.

Mendoza

T. R.

Palmer

S. N.

Wang

X. S.

Reyes-Gibby

C. C.

. . . Cleeland

C. S.

(2003). Fatigue and sleep disturbance in patients with cancer, patients with clinic depression, and community-dwelling adults. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 25, 307-318.

Anglin

D. M.

Link

B. G.

Phlen

J. C.

(2006). Racial differences in stigmatizing attitudes toward people with mental illness. Psychiatric Services, 57, 857-862.

Baker

T. A.

Green

C. R.

(2005). Intrarace differences among Black and White Americans presenting for chronic pain management: The influence of age, physical health, and psychosocial factors. Pain Medicine, 6(1), 29-38.

Bazargan

(1995). Self-reported sleep disturbance among African-American elderly: The effects of depression, health status, exercise and social support. Journals of Gerontology, 50B, 119-127.

Bloom

H. G.

Ahmed

Alessi

C. A.

Ancoli-Israel

Buysse

D. J.

Phillips

B. A.

. . . Zee

P. C.

(2009). Evidence-based recommendations for the assessment and management of sleep disorders in older persons. Journal of the American Geriatric Society, 57, 761-789.

Bromberg

M. H.

Gil

K. M.

Schanberg

L. E.

(2011). Daily sleep quality and mood as predictors of pain in children with juvenile polyarticular arthritis. Health Psychology, 31, 202-209.

Chasens

E. R.

Twerski

S. R.

Yang

Umlauf

M. G.

(2010). Sleepiness and health in midlife women: Results of the National Sleep Foundation’s 2007 Sleep in America poll. Behavioral Sleep Medicine, 8, 157-171.

Chasens

E. R.

Umlauf

M. G.

Pillion

D. J.

Singh

K. P.

(2000). Sleep apnea symptoms, nocturia, and diabetes in African American community dwelling older adults. Journal of the National Black Nurses Association, 11, 25-33.

10.

Chen

Hayman

R. L.

Shmerling

R. H.

Bean

J. F.

Leveille

S. G.

(2011). Characteristics of chronic pain associated with sleep difficulty in older adults: The maintenance of balance, independent living, intellect, and zest in the elderly (MOBILIZE) Boston study. Journal of the American Geriatric Society, 59, 1385-1392.

11.

Durrence

H. H.

Lichstein

K. L.

(2006). The sleep of African Americans: A comparative review. Behavioral Sleep Medicine, 4, 29-44.

12.

Fiorentino

Marler

Stepnowsky

Johnson

Ancoli-Israel

(2006). Sleep in older African Americans and Caucasians at risk for sleep-disordered breathing. Sleep Medicine, 4, 164-178.

13.

Foley

Ancoli-Israel

Britz

Walsh

(2004). Sleep disturbances and chronic disease in older adults results of the 2003 national sleep foundation sleep in America survey. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 56, 497-502.

14.

Ford

M. E.

Kelly

P. A.

(2005). Conceptualizing and categorizing race and ethnicity in health services research. Health Services Research, 40, 1658-1675.

15.

Gagliese

(2009). Pain and aging: The emergence of a new subfield of pain research. Journal of Pain, 10, 343-353.

16.

Gallo

J. J.

Bogner

H. R.

Morales

K. H.

Ford

D. E.

(2005). Patient ethnicity and the identification and active management of depression in late life. Archives of Internal Medicine, 26, 1962-1968.

17.

Gamaldo

A. A.

Allaire

J. C.

Whitfield

K. E.

(2008). The relationship between reported problems falling asleep and cognition among African American elderly. Research on Aging, 30, 752-767.

18.

Gibson

R. S.

Jackson

J. S.

(1987). The health, physical functioning and informational supports of the Black elderly. Milbank Quarterly, 65, 421-456.

19.

Green

C. R.

Ndao-Brumblay

S. K.

Hart-Johnson

(2009). Sleep problems in a racially diverse chronic pain population. Clinical Journal of Pain, 25, 423-430.

20.

Hale

Phuong

(2007). Racial differences in self-reports of sleep duration in a population based study. Sleep, 30, 1096-1103.

21.

Harvey

A. G.

Stinson

Whitaker

K. L.

Moskovitz

Virk

(2008). The subjective meaning of sleep quality: A comparison of individuals with and without insomnia. Sleep, 31, 383-393.

22.

Jean-Luis

Magai

C. M.

Cohen

C. I.

Zizi

von Gizycki

DiPalma

. . . Casimir

G. J.

(2001). Ethnic differences in self-reported sleep problems in older adults. Sleep, 8, 926-933.

23.

Linn

M. W.

Linn

B. S.

(1984). Self-Evaluation of Life Function (SELF) Scale: A short comprehensive self-report of health for elderly adults. Journals of Gerontology, 39, 603-612.

24.

Luyster

F. S.

Chasens

E. R.

Wasko

M. C.

Dunbar-Jacob

(2011). Sleep quality and functional disability in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, 7(1), 49-55.

25.

Magee

C. A.

Caputi

Iverson

D. C.

(2011). Relationships between self-rated health, quality of life and sleep duration in middle aged and elderly Australians. Sleep Medicine, 12, 346-350.

26.

McKnight-Eily

L. R.

Eaton

D. K.

Lowry

Croft

J. B.

Presley-Cantrill

Perry

G. S.

(2011). Relationships between hours of sleep and health-risk behaviors in U.S. adolescent students. Preventive Medicine, 53, 271-273.

27.

Meenan

R. F.

Mason

J. H.

Anderson

J. J.

Guccione

A. A.

Kazis

L. E.

(1992). The content and properties of a revised and expanded Arthritis Impact Measurement Scales Health Status Questionnaire. Arthritis & Rheumatism, 35, 1-10.

28.

Melzack

(1975). The McGill Pain Questionnaire: Major properties and scoring methods. Pain, 1, 277-299.

29.

Morin

C. M.

Gibson

Wade

(1998). Self-reported sleep disorders and mood disturbance in chronic pain patients. Clinical Journal of Pain, 14, 311-314.

30.

Palermo

T. M.

Kiska

(2005). Subjective sleep disturbances in adolescents with chronic pain: Relationship to daily functioning and quality of life. Journal of Pain, 6, 201-207.

31.

Radloff

L. S.

(1977). The CES-D scale: A self-report depression scale for research in the general public. Applied Psychological Measurement, 1, 385-401.

32.

Roepke

S. K.

Ancoli-Israel

(2010). Sleep disorders in the elderly. Indian Journal of Medical Research, 131, 302-310.

33.

Vaz Fragoso

C. A.

Gill

(2007). Sleep complaints in community-living older persons: A multifactorial geriatric syndrome. Journal of American Geriatric Society, 55, 1853-1866.

34.

Whitfield

K. E.

Baker

T. A.

Heyward

Gatto

Williams

(1999). Evaluating a measure of everyday problem solving for use in African-Americans. Experimental Aging Research, 25, 209-222.

35.

Wilcox

Brenes

G. A.

Levine

Sevick

M. A.

Shumaker

S. A.

Craven

(2000). Factors related to sleep disturbance in older adults experiencing knee pain or knee pain with radiographic evidence of knee osteoarthritis. Journal of American Geriatric Society, 48, 1241-1251.