Comparison Between Informant-Observed and Actigraphic Assessments of Sleep–Wake Rhythm Disturbances in Demented Residents of Homes for the Elderly

Feb 14, 2006The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry

Comparing Caregiver Observations and Movement-Based Measures of Sleep-Wake Problems in Elderly People with Dementia

AI simplified

Circadian Biology on OpenScience ↗PubMed ↗DOI ↗

Abstract

Elderly subjects had an average age of 85 years and wore actigraphs for two weeks to assess sleep-wake rhythms.

Good correlations were observed between actigraphic data and questionnaire items regarding habitual sleep and wake times.
Caregivers overestimated actual sleep time by 96 minutes, indicating potential bias in questionnaire reporting.
Reports of sleep disturbances, such as nighttime wandering, were reflected in actigraphy data.
Correlation between questionnaire and actigraphy variables was modest, suggesting they may complement each other.
Both assessment methods missed the established prevalence of sleep-disordered breathing and leg movements during sleep.

AI simplified

OBJECTIVE: Sleep-wake rhythm disturbances frequently occur in demented elderly and are of clinical relevance because they herald accelerated functional decline and institutionalization. Assessment of sleep-wake rhythm disorders is therefore of significant importance and can be performed by questionnaires or actigraphy, i.e., the recording of wrist activity. The present study investigates the relation of these two types of measurement by simultaneously assessing actigraphy and the Circadian Sleep Inventory for Normal and Pathological States (CSINAPS).

METHODS: Seventy-eight elderly subjects, mean age 85+/-6 years, living in group care facilities of 12 homes for the elderly, wore an actigraph for two weeks. Caregivers completed the nurse informant CSINAPS. Spearman rank correlations and Mann-Whitney U tests were calculated over the equivalent sleep-wake rhythm parameters as derived from actigraphy and from the CSINAPS.

RESULTS: Good correlations were found between questionnaire items about habitual timing of sleep and wakefulness and their actigraphic counterparts. Caregivers overestimated the actual sleep time between sleep onset and offset by 96 minutes. Questionnaire reports of sleep disturbances like wandering at night were also reflected in actigraphy parameters. However, the questionnaire and actigraphy variables correlate only modestly and may complement each other. In our study, both actigraphy and the CSINAPS seemed to miss the previously established high prevalence of sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) and leg movements during sleep (LM).

CONCLUSION: The assessment of sleep and wake disturbances in demented elderly is best served by parallel use of a questionnaire like the CSINAPS and actigraphy. Moreover, if SDB and LM are a focus of interest, additional assessments are needed.

Full Text

Full text is available at the source.

View full text (XML) ↗View full text ↗

Comparison Between Informant-Observed and Actigraphic Assessments of Sleep–Wake Rhythm Disturbances in Demented Residents of Homes for the Elderly

Abstract

Full Text

You found one interesting study. We’ll send the next 7.

what lands in your inbox each week:

Recent issues from the circadian biology brief

Abstract

Full Text

Related papers

You found one interesting study. We’ll send the next 7.

what lands in your inbox each week:

Recent issues from the circadian biology brief