Sleep cognitions associated with anxiety and depression in the elderly

The objective of this study was to identify the maladaptive sleep-related cognitions most often maintained by the elderly, according to the presence or absence of anxiety and mood disorders. The presence of dysfunctional sleep-related beliefs and attitudes at bedtime in asymptomatic, depressive, and anxious seniors was thus compared. The second objective was to verify the relationships between various dysfunctional cognitions and mental disorders.

The sample in this study consisted of 2,759 participants aged 65 years and over, with a mean age of 73.8 years. They were recruited through a method of random generation of telephone numbers according to a sampling strategy based on geographic location. After the goal of the study was explained to them, the participants agreed to have health professionals visit their home and to answer questions in a 1.5-hour-long structured interview (after signing a consent form).

Depressive and anxious seniors adopt dysfunctional sleep-related cognitions in higher proportions than asymptomatic older persons. Once we had controlled for the other factors, we were able to specifically link two sleep-related beliefs and all the sleep-related attitudes studied to the probability of being anxious or depressive.

The clarifications obtained will make it possible to improve detection, assessment, and intervention processes regarding anxiety or mood disorders, by pinpointing the most direct link between each of the dysfunctional cognitions and the two types of mental disorders, and not just the link to sleep problems.