Abstract
Introduction
Limited research has examined links of insomnia with health services use, particularly using claims-based data. We investigated the association of insomnia symptoms with costly health services use, measured by Medicare claims, in a nationally representative sample of U.S. older adults.
Methods
Participants were 4,302 community-dwelling Medicare beneficiaries aged ≥65 years from Round 1 (2011) of the National Health and Aging Trends Study who had continuous fee-for-service Medicare coverage 1 year before and after the Round 1 interview. Participants reported past-month insomnia symptoms (i.e., sleep onset latency >30 minutes, difficulty returning to sleep after early awakening) which we categorized as 0, 1, or 2 symptoms. Outcomes were linked Medicare claims occurring after Round 1 interviews: emergency department (ED) visits, all-cause hospitalizations, preventable hospitalizations, all-cause 30-day readmissions, home health care (all measured as yes/no); and number of hospitalizations and ED visits.
Results
Overall, 18.9% of participants were hospitalized, 29.3% visited the ED, 3.1% had a preventable hospitalization, 2.6% had a readmission, and 11.7% used home health care. After adjustment for demographics, compared to participants with no insomnia symptoms, those with 2 symptoms had a higher odds of ED visits (odds ratio (OR)=1.42, p<0.001), all-cause hospitalizations (OR=1.30, p<0.01), preventable hospitalizations (OR=1.83, p<0.05), 30-day readmissions (OR=1.73, p<0.05), and home health care use (OR=1.27, p<0.05). These associations did not hold, however, upon further adjustment for health characteristics (i.e., depressive/anxiety symptoms, medical comorbidities and BMI). After full adjustment, reporting 2 insomnia symptoms, versus no insomnia symptoms, was associated with a greater number of ED visits (Incidence Rate Ratio=1.16, p<0.05).
Conclusion
Among older adults, a greater number of insomnia symptoms is associated with greater health services use. Insomnia symptoms may be a marker of, or exacerbate, health conditions. Targeting insomnia may lower health services use.
Support
National Institute on Aging: R01AG050507 & R01AG050507-02S (PI: Spira); F31-AG058389; U01AG032947 (PI: Kasper) for the National Health and Aging Trends Study. Johns Hopkins Center on Aging and Health Data Use Agreement (PI: Roth, Co-I: Sheehan) with Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services titled, “Potentially modifiable factors influencing outcomes in NHATS.”
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