162 Age, sex, and sleep continuity disturbance: Does binary sex impact sleep continuity while co-varying for age across the lifespan?

It is well-documented that insomnia symptoms can worsen with age and that women have a greater predisposition to insomnia symptoms than men. Additionally, it has been found that women are more likely to report insomnia symptoms across the lifespan (i.e., increased prevalence of insomnia regardless of age). The aim of the present study was to 1) confirm the finding that women are more likely to endorse having insomnia problems (specifically as they pertain to SL, WASO, and EMA) and 2) evaluate if there are binary sex differences with respect to sleep continuity disturbance (SCD) while accounting for age. Methods Sleep continuity (SL, WASO, EMA) duration (in minutes) and problem endorsement data was collected from individuals with insomnia complaints in an archival/community-based sample (n=1837;56.9% female; ages 18-87) (www.sleeplessinphilly.com). A multivariate analysis of covariance was conducted to determine a significant difference between sex (male, female) on SL, WASO, and EMA in minutes while controlling for age. Pearson correlations were run to determine relationships between age and SL, WASO, and EMA. Chi-Square tests were run to determine if there were sex differences in problem endorsement of SL, WASO, and EMA. Results Significant sex differences were observed in reports of SCDs as problematic, where more women endorsed SL (58.5%;p<.001), WASO (58.1%;p<.001), and EMA (56.9%;p<.001) as a problem than men. There were no significant effects of binary sex on sleep continuity disturbances when controlling for age. Age was significantly negatively related to SL(p<.001) and significantly positively related to WASO(p<.001) and EMA(p<.001). Conclusion These results confirm that women are more likely to report SCDs as a problem and that men and women experience similar levels of insomnia severity with respect to SL, WASO, and EMA. Clinically speaking, it may be important to evaluate insomnia with explicit questions about specific measures of SCD, followed by an inquiry regarding whether each SCD symptom “is a problem.” Future studies should consider gender identification as a relevant factor when evaluating for sleep continuity disturbances across the lifespan. Support (if any):