Sleep problems in anxious and depressive older adults

Abstract

Purpose

The objective of this study was to identify the sleep problems most often encountered by the elderly according to the presence or absence of anxiety and mood disorders. The aim was also to determine whether groups of anxious, depressive, and asymptomatic individuals differ in relation to sleep onset latency; awakenings at night or early in the morning; subjective quality of sleep; taking of sleep medication; and daytime sleepiness.

Methods

Structured interviews based on the DSM-IV-TR were administered to a sample of 2,759 seniors aged 65 years and older at the participants’ home by health professionals.

Results

Awakening was found to be the most common disturbance. Increased sleep onset latency was the second most frequent sleep difficulty. Taking more than 30 minutes to fall asleep was associated with the likelihood of meeting the diagnostic criteria for an anxiety disorder, and even reduced the risk of meeting the diagnostic criteria for a mood disorder rather than an anxiety disorder. Awakenings were associated with the probability of suffering from an anxiety disorder or a mood disorder. Quality of sleep, as perceived by the elderly, was not found to be associated with the probability of suffering from a mental disorder.

Conclusion

These findings should help to facilitate the practitioner’s diagnosis and add further nuances to be considered when encountering symptoms of an anxious or depressive appearance. All of these data also add fuel to the ongoing debate about whether anxiety and depression are one or two distinct categories of disorders.

Keywords:

• anxiety
• awakenings
• daytime sleepiness
• depression
• elderly
• quality of sleep
• sleep medication
• sleep onset latency

Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the Fonds de recherche en santé du Québec. The authors would like to thank the research group from the Québec Survey on Seniors’ Health (Enquête sur la santé des aînés) study and Michel Préville for the acquisition of funding and the collection of data.

Disclosure

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.