Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Jan-Feb;39(1):60-65.
doi: 10.1016/j.gerinurse.2017.06.003. Epub 2017 Jul 3.

Impact of Alzheimer disease patients' sleep disturbances on their caregivers

Philip Gehrman  1 , Nalaka S Gooneratne  2 , Glenna S Brewster  3 , Kathy C Richards  4 , Jason Karlawish  5
Affiliations

Impact of Alzheimer disease patients' sleep disturbances on their caregivers

Philip Gehrman et al. Geriatr Nurs. 2018 Jan-Feb.

Abstract

Sleep disturbance symptoms are common in persons living with Alzheimer disease (AD). However little is known about the impact of sleep disturbance symptoms in patients living with AD on caregiver burden and quality of life (QOL). The aims of this study were to determine the prevalence of symptoms of disturbed sleep in patients with AD, identify the care-recipient sleep disturbance symptoms that predict caregiver burden and QoL, and determine how care-recipient sleep disturbance symptoms compare to other caregiver and patient characteristics when predicting caregiver QoL. Caregiver burden was assessed using the Screen for Caregiver Burden. Sixty percent of the care-recipients had at least one sleep symptom. In 130 caregiver/patient dyads, nocturnal awakenings, nocturnal wandering, and snoring predicted caregiver burden. Multivariate modeling demonstrated that caregiver burden, caregiver physical and mental health, and caregiver depression were predictors of overall caregiver QoL. Treating disturbed sleep in care-recipients and caregiver mental health symptoms could have important public health impact by improving the lives of the caregiving dyad.

Keywords: Burden; Dementia; Depression; Quality of life; Wandering.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Prevalence of caregiver-perceived sleep complaints
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. McCurry SM, Ancoli-Israel S. Sleep Dysfunction in Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Dementias. Curr Treat Options Neurol. 2003;5(3):261–272. - PubMed
    1. Rongve A, Boeve BF, Aarsland D. Frequency and correlates of caregiver-reported sleep disturbances in a sample of persons with early dementia. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. 2010;58(3):480–486. - PubMed
    1. Cagnin A, Fragiacomo F, Camporese G, et al. Sleep-Wake Profile in Dementia with Lewy Bodies, Alzheimer’s Disease, and Normal Aging. Journal of Alzheimer’s disease: JAD. 2017;55(4):1529–1536. - PubMed
    1. Musiek ES, Xiong DD, Holtzman DM. Sleep, circadian rhythms, and the pathogenesis of Alzheimer Disease. Experimental & Molecular Medicine. 2015;47(3):e148. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Tractenberg RE, Singer CM, Kaye JA. Symptoms of sleep disturbance in persons with Alzheimer’s disease and normal elderly. Journal of sleep research. 2005;14(2):177–185. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types