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Elder Care News
Sleep Problems Among the Elderly Linked to Suicide
Risk
Many older adults get less sleep than needed due to
trouble falling asleep
June 14, 2007 - Self-reported sleep complaints
among the elderly serve as a risk factor for completed suicide,
according to a research abstract that focused on data that were
collected among 14,456 community elders over a 10-year period. It will
be presented Thursday at SLEEP 2007, the 21st Annual Meeting of the
Associated Professional Sleep Societies (APSS).
During the ten-year time frame of the data 21
individuals died by suicide, according to Rebecca Bernert of Florida
State University, who did the study.
When each suicide was matched to 20
randomly-selected controls, it was discovered that disturbances in
sleep, independent of depression, predicted an increased risk for
eventual death by suicide.
"This suggests that, as a warning sign, poor sleep
quality constitutes a significant and modifiable risk factor for
completed suicide," said Bernert.
"Evaluating sleep among at-risk patients may
therefore guide and importantly inform both clinical decision-making and
suicide risk assessment."
It is recommended that older adults get seven to
eight hours of sleep each night for good health and optimum performance.
Unfortunately, many older adults often get less
sleep than they need. One reason is that they often have more trouble
falling asleep.
Not sleeping well can lead to a number of problems.
Older adults who have poor nighttime sleep are more
likely to have -
● a depressed mood,
● attention and memory problems,
● excessive daytime sleepiness,
● more nighttime falls, and
● use more over-the-counter or prescription sleep aids.
Poor sleep is also associated with a poorer quality
of life. Insomnia, the most common sleep complaint, affects almost half
of adults 60 and older.
Those who think they might have a sleep disorder
are encouraged to consult with their primary care physician, who will
refer them to a sleep specialist.
Editors Notes:
The annual SLEEP meeting brings together an
international body of 5,000 leading researchers and clinicians in the
field of sleep medicine to present and discuss new findings and medical
developments related to sleep and sleep disorders.
More than 1,000 research abstracts will be
presented at the SLEEP meeting, a joint venture of the American Academy
of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society. The four-day
scientific meeting will bring to light new findings that enhance the
understanding of the processes of sleep and aid the diagnosis and
treatment of sleep disorders such as insomnia, narcolepsy and sleep
apnea.
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