Study of sleep disorders in the elderly visiting geriatrics department

CONTEXT: Sparse published data are available from India regarding sleep disorders in elderly, sleep quality, and daytime sleepiness. AIMS: To study sleep disturbances in the elderly (>60 years) subjects. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: Hospital-based cross-sectional study. METHODS AND MATERIAL: All the subjects underwent a thorough clinical evaluation which included detailed history and a thorough physical examination. The daytime sleepiness was assessed using the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS). The sleep quality (SQ) was evaluated with the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Association between categorical variables was studied by Chi-square (χ(2)) test with continuity correction. All tests were two-tailed; a P value <0.05 was considered as significant. RESULTS: During the period November 2019 to July 2020, 122 elderly subjects were studied; women (n = 70; 57.4%) outnumbered men. Only six (4.9%) patients presented with sleep-related complaints. Seven (5.7%) patients had an ESS score >10 suggestive of increased day time sleepiness. Sixty-four (52.5%) were labelled “bad sleepers” (PSQI >5). Compared with those with ≤3 comorbid conditions, a higher proportion of elderly with >3 comorbid conditions had significantly higher occurrence of poor sleep quality (PSQI >5) and daytime sleepiness (ESS >10). Increased daytime sleepiness (ESS >10) was significantly high in patients with osteoarthritis and cerebrovascular disease. CONCLUSIONS: Our observations suggest that a high proportion of elderly subjects who did not complain of sleep-related symptoms were found to have poor sleep quality. Therefore, incorporating SQ assessment as a part of routine geriatric assessment screening would be beneficial in early detection of this condition.