Self-Reported Sleep Duration and Pattern in Old Order Amish and Non-Amish Adults

Man Zhang; Kathleen A Ryan; Emerson Wickwire; Teodor T Postolache; Huichun Xu; Melanie Daue; Soren Snitker; Toni I Pollin; Alan R Shuldiner; Braxton D Mitchell

doi:10.5664/jcsm.7928

Self-Reported Sleep Duration and Pattern in Old Order Amish and Non-Amish Adults

J Clin Sleep Med. 2019 Sep 15;15(9):1321-1328. doi: 10.5664/jcsm.7928.

Authors

Man Zhang¹, Kathleen A Ryan¹, Emerson Wickwire^{2

3}, Teodor T Postolache^{4

5}, Huichun Xu¹, Melanie Daue¹, Soren Snitker¹, Toni I Pollin¹, Alan R Shuldiner¹, Braxton D Mitchell^{1

6}

Affiliations

¹ Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Nutrition, Department of Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland.
² Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland.
³ Sleep Disorders Center, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland.
⁴ Mood and Anxiety Program, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland.
⁵ Rocky Mountain Mental Illness Research Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC), Aurora, Colorado.
⁶ Geriatrics Research and Education Clinical Center, Baltimore Veterans Administration Medical Center, Baltimore, Maryland.

Abstract

Study objectives: We hypothesized that sleep duration in the Amish would be longer than in non-Amish.

Methods: Sleep duration was obtained by questionnaire administered to Amish individuals (n = 3,418) and from the 2015-2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES; n = 1,912). Self-reported sleep duration was calculated as the difference in usual times that the participants went to bed at night and woke up in the morning.

Results: In Amish (43.7 ± 16.7 years) and NHANES (50.0 ± 20.6 years), women had a longer sleep duration than men (P < .0001 in both groups) and sleep was significantly longer in those aged 18-29 years and ≥ 70 years, compared to those aged 30-69 years. Seasonal-adjusted sleep duration was shorter in Amish than that in NHANES (7.8 minutes shorter, age- and sex-adjusted P < .0001). However, Amish were less likely to report sleeping fewer than 7 hours per night (15.4% in Amish versus 20.5% in NHANES, P < .0001). Amish went to bed 80.4 minutes earlier than NHANES and arose 87.6 minutes earlier (age-, sex-, and season-adjusted P < .0001 for both). In the Amish, sleep duration was longer in clerks than in farmers (P < .0001) and was significantly correlated among household members (.15 < r < .62, P < .001), although there was no evidence that this trait was heritable (h² approximately 0) after adjustment for household.

Conclusions: The lower frequency of short sleepers in the Amish may contribute to the relatively lower risks of cardiometabolic diseases observed in this population.

Citation: Zhang M, Ryan KA, Wickwire E, Postolache TT, Xu H, Daue M, Snitker S, Pollin TI, Shuldiner AR, Mitchell BD. Self-reported sleep duration and pattern in old order amish and non-amish adults. J Clin Sleep Med. 2019;15(9):1321-1328.

Keywords: Amish; NHANES; Sleep; Sleep Frequency; family; heritability.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Adult
Age Factors
Aged
Amish / statistics & numerical data*
Cross-Sectional Studies
Female
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Pennsylvania
Self Report
Sex Factors
Sleep / physiology*
Surveys and Questionnaires
Time Factors
Young Adult

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding