January 2023

Objective: To analyze the association between sleep duration and periodontal parameters in older adults. Materials and Methods: Data from 1,136 community-resident older adults participating in the Health, Aging and Body Composition (Health ABC) Study were used. Hours of sleep per night were determined by self-report. Probing pocket depth (PPD) and clinical attachment level (CAL) were evaluated for all teeth present. Periodontal disease was categorized, considering different cut-points of PPD (at least one site with ≥4mm, ≥5mm or ≥6mm) and CAL (≥3mm in >20%, >30% or >40% of the sites). Multivariate Poisson regression with robust variance was used to estimate the association of PPD and CAL with sleep duration (>5h/day, >6h/day and >7h/day). Analyses were adjusted by sociodemographic, behavioral, medical history and oral health factors. Results: No association was observed between sleep duration and any level of PPD. However, older adults that sleep >7h/day presented 15% higher prevalence ratio (PR) of presenting CAL ≥3mm in ≥30% of the sites (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.02–1.29). Similar trend was observed for CAL ≥3mm in ≥40% sites and sleep duration of >7h/day, but did not achieve statistical significance (PR: 1.17; 95% CI: 0.99–1.36). Conclusion: Sleep duration was not consistently associated with periodontal parameters in older adults.