The Mediating Effect of Sleep Quality Between Pain and Life Satisfaction Among Chinese Older Adults: Evidence from CHARLS 2020.

Background: With the accelerating trend of population aging, increasing attention has been paid to the health status and quality of life among older adults. However, the underlying mechanisms linking pain and life satisfaction remain not fully elucidated. This research intended to explore the mediating role of sleep quality in the association between pain and life satisfaction. Methods: The present research enrolled 9481 participants aged 60 and above from wave 2020 of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS). We employed linear regression and bootstrap methods to examine the mediating role of sleep quality in the association between pain and life satisfaction. Results: Following adjustment for confounding variables, pain was negatively associated with life satisfaction (β = -0.097, P < 0.001) and was associated with poorer sleep quality (r = -0.27, P < 0.001). The mediating effect of sleep quality accounted for 26.5% of the total effect of pain on life satisfaction, and the size of the mediating effect was a×b =-0.0077 (95% CI: -0.0089, -0.0064). Conclusion: Among Chinese older adults, pain was associated with lower life satisfaction both directly and indirectly through its association with poorer sleep quality. This finding suggests that in addressing the health challenges of an aging society, it is essential to focus not only on the management of pain itself but also on improving sleep quality among older adults, thereby potentially enhancing their overall life satisfaction.