Biomarkers

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Sleep Science
• Neuroscience

Background:

• Sleep disturbances are linked to cognitive decline and Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias (AD/ADRD) risk in older adults.
• Diverse sleep metrics yield inconsistent findings, necessitating examination of associations between different measures.
• Rural older adults, a high-risk group, are underrepresented in sleep and AD/ADRD research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the concordance between objective sleep measures (Sleep Profiler) and self-reported daily sleep in rural older adults.
• To explore the relationship between subjective, survey-based Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) scores and objective sleep parameters.
• To understand the role of sleep in AD/ADRD risk and prevention within a rural elderly population.

Main Methods:

• Utilized baseline data from the Everyday Function Intervention Trial (NCT04651582) with 28 participants.
• Collected 14 days of smartphone-based self-reported sleep data, including quality, sleep onset/maintenance, and feeling refreshed.
• Employed a wireless electroencephalography (EEG) monitor (Sleep Profiler™) for objective sleep metrics like REM and NREM percentages and latencies.
• Administered the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) to assess various sleep quality dimensions.

Main Results:

• Higher percentage of NREM Stage 3 (deep sleep) correlated with better daily sleep quality and feeling more refreshed.
• Increased PSQI total scores (indicating poorer sleep) were associated with longer NREM Stage 3 latency (time to reach deep sleep).
• Objective NREM sleep measures showed general agreement with subjective daily sleep reports and PSQI scores.

Conclusions:

• Objective NREM sleep measures largely align with subjective sleep assessments (daily reports and PSQI) in rural older adults.
• The PSQI demonstrates potential as a time- and cost-effective tool for sleep quality assessment, comparable to objective measures.
• Findings support early sleep interventions for AD/ADRD prevention, particularly for rural populations with limited access to sleep diagnostics.