MONDAY, Jan. 12, 2026 (HealthDay News) -- Back pain is predictive of subsequent sleep problems in older men, according to a study published in the November issue of Innovation Aging.
Soomi Lee, Ph.D., from the Pennsylvania State University in University Park, and colleagues examined whether the association between back pain and sleep problems in men aged 65 years and older is bidirectional using data from the Osteoporotic Fractures in Men Study. In total, 1,055 older men completed two clinical sleep visits. Self-report and actigraphy data were used to create a composite sleep problems score reflecting irregularity, dissatisfaction, lack of daytime alertness, suboptimal timing, inefficiency, and suboptimal duration. Participants were queried about back pain every four months, and the prevalence of back pain was calculated around their two sleep visits. Bidirectional associations between sleep problems and subsequent back pain, and vice versa, were estimated over six years.
The researchers found that having any back pain, frequent back pain, severe back pain, and activity-limiting back pain predicted 12 to 25 percent greater sleep problems six years later in multivariable-adjusted analyses. Subsequent back pain was not predicted by sleep problems.
"Now that we know that back pain precedes sleep problems, it is clearer that pain management may be necessary for maintaining quality sleep and preventing broader health problems in older adults over time," Lee said in a statement.
One author disclosed ties to Axsome Therapeutics and Eli Lilly.