Objective   To explore the effect of sleep disorder on cognitive impairment among rural elderly in Guizhou province, and to provide references for improving cognitive function of the elderly.

  Methods   Using multistate random cluster sampling, we recruited 1 795 permanent residents aged ≥ 60 years in 5 rural towns of Guizhou province for a face-to-face interview conducted during June – August 2019. A self-designed questionnaire, Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), and Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS) were used to collect the participants′ information on demographics, cognitive function and sleep condition.

  Results   Among the 1 651 residents with valid response, 517 (31.3%) were identified having cognitive impairment and the detection rates of impaired cognitive function were 17.9% (n = 296) for orientation, 12.1% (199) for immediate recall, 31.4% (518) for attention and calculation, 45.5% (752) for delayed recall, and 10.8% (179) for linguistic competence, respectively; 484 (29.3%) reported having sleep disorders. After adjusting for confounder variables as gender, age, ethnicity, education, marital status, and occupation, the results of unconditional multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that the participants with sleep disorders were more likely to have overall cognitive impairment (odds ratio OR = 1.348, 95% confidence interval 95% CI: 1.056 – 1.719), impaired immediate recall (OR = 1.410, 95% CI: 1.024 – 1.943) and attention and calculation (OR = 1.302, 95% CI : 1.025 – 1.654).

  Conclusion   Among rural elderly in Guizhou province, the prevalence of cognitive impairment is relatively high and sleep disorder is one of major risk factors for cognitive impairment, especially for impaired immediate recall and attention and calculation function.