Depressive symptoms and chronotypes of elderly nursing home residentes: A case management study

Institutionalization potentiates the tendency for specific sleep disturbances which occur with aging, besides negative health consequences such as increased rate of depressive symptoms.

To compare sleep profile and depressive symptoms in elderly nursing home residents, highlighting gender differences.

A quantitative descriptive study of 29 elderly from two different nursing homes was conducted. A sociodemographics questionnaire, Sleep Diary, Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire and the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale were applied. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Student's t-test and the Mann-Whitney U-test.

The sample comprised individuals that were predominantly female (72%), aged 80-90 years (48%), widowed (66%) and low-educated (83%). The women were found to sleep and awake later than the men. Regarding chronotypes, the women were classified as evening types and men as intermediate/indifferent types. Most of the elderly exhibited symptoms of major depression (48%). Compared to men, women had more depressive symptoms in both dysthymia and major depression categories.

No significant differences were evident on comparisons of sleep profile and depressive symptoms, but elderly with the intermediate chronotype scored lower on the depressive symptoms scale.