Associations between sleep quality and different correlates in the elderly

Our aims were to describe subjective sleep quality and explore the associations between several correlates and sleep quality in an elderly sample. Ninety-nine institutionalised elderly (mean age, M = 78.65; SD = 6.92; range = 60–95) from Coimbra Council filled in voluntarily a test battery (or whose relatives/caregivers gave consent), including socio- demographic questions, initial sleep assessment (daytime naps, daytime sleepiness, sleep routines, physical exercise, presence of pain/noise during night, sleep diseases and medication, sleep satisfaction), medical problems assessment and of medication that affect sleep, a subjective sleep quality index (SSQI), depressive (Geriatric Depression Scale) and anxious (Geriatric Anxiety Inven- tory) symptomatology and satisfaction with life (Satisfaction with Life Scale). Forty-nine percent of the elderly reported poor sleep. Older age was associated with early awakenings and decreased sleep depth, both in men and women. In men, age was associated with early awakenings, decreased sleep depth, diminished sleep satisfaction, and more daytime naps. In women, older age was not associated to any variable. Poor subjective sleep quality was associated with less education, no sleep satisfaction, more daytime sleepiness, pain during night, presence of medical problems that affect sleep, and depressive symptoms, both in men and women. In men, subjective sleep quality was associated with diminished sleep satisfaction, more daytime sleepiness, and pain or noise during night; older women had less sleep satisfaction, more daytime sleepiness, medical problems that affect sleep and more depressive symptoms. Decrease in sleep quality is fairly common in old institutionalised persons, and poor sleep is associated with less education, no sleep satisfaction, more daytime sleepiness, pain during the night, presence of medical problems that affect sleep and higher depressive symptoms. Studies are required to establish whether improvements in these outcomes will ameliorate sleep in institutionalised elderly