Association between Sleep Duration and Pain Medication Use: Findings from a Study of a Federally Qualified Health Center Patient Population

Abstract

Background: Chronic pain is a highly prevalent issue in both medicine and public health. Chronic pain is a serious, debilitating condition that negatively influences individuals by inhibiting functional status. Pain medications are utilized to alleviate chronic pain but have adverse effects, including sleep insufficiency, which is known to negatively affect health and well-being. This study examines the association between pain medication and sleep duration. The study also examines the extent to which patient satisfaction with their health care moderates the association between pain medication usage and sleep duration. Using survey and electronic medical record data from a patient sample (n=232) within a small Midwestern health center, we hypothesized that adults receiving pain medications would be more likely to get suboptimal sleep compared to adults who did not receive pain medications. Methods: Patients on pain medications were identified by EMR. Sleep duration and patient satisfaction was self-reported. Logistic regression models were used to assess associations between receipt of pain medication and healthy (vs not) sleep duration. A statistical interaction between pain medication use and health care satisfaction was added to the model. Linear regression models were employed to evaluate if the predicting variables within the models were predictive of the outcome variable (sleep duration). Results: Pain medication usage was associated with suboptimal sleep. Discussion: Pain medication was associated with sleep duration. Further research should be done on the association between pain medication and sleep duration with a larger sample of patients and a population representative of other FQHCs. Future research should be done to examine the association between patient satisfaction, pain medication, and sleep duration. Chronic pain selfmanagement interventions can be implemented to achieve positive health outcomes for chronic pain patients.