Associations between sleep and body composition in older women and the potential role of physical function

The relationship between sleep and adiposity in older women remains unclear partly due to the reliance of body mass index as a measure of adiposity. The purpose of this study was to investigate associations between objectively measured sleep characteristics and body composition measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry in older women. A secondary purpose was to examine if physical function mediates this relationship. Non-obese older women (ages 60–75 years, n = 102) were included in the study. Total sleep time (TST), time in bed (TIB), sleep efficiency (SE), and wake after sleep onset (WASO) were determined by actigraphy. A battery of tests was used to assess physical function. With adjustment for age, there was a negative association between TST and TIB with lean mass. Both grip strength and dominant leg extension were associated with TST, TIB, and lean mass; the associations between TST and TIB with lean mass were lost after adjusting for grip strength or leg extension strength. Additionally, SE was negatively associated with total, gynoid, and trunk lean mass, and there was a positive association between TST and percent trunk fat, and WASO and gynoid lean mass, with age adjusted. Sleep characteristics, TST, TIB, SE, and WASO, were associated body composition measures in this sample of older women. The relationship between TST and TIB with body composition was mediated, in part, by grip strength and leg extension strength.