Sleep Patterns of Hospitalised Older Adults in an Acute Geriatric Unit
Abstract
Introduction
Poor sleep in hospitalised older adults has been associated with functional impairment, decreased cognitive functioning and increased mortality risk. There is a paucity of studies objectively measuring the sleep patterns of older adults throughout the course of an acute health event and/or hospitalisation. This study aims to objectively evaluate sleep patterns of hospitalised older adults in an acute geriatric inpatient unit using sheet-shaped body vibrometer (SBV), explore the incidence and clinical characteristics of hospitalised older adults with sleep disturbances, identify clinical predictors of sleep disturbances and explore the relationship between sleep patterns and clinical outcomes from the hospitalisation.
Methods
This was a prospective, observational cohort study of patients aged 65 and above conducted at an acute geriatric inpatient unit in Singapore from 2017 to 2019. Baseline demographics, clinical characteristics, and clinical outcomes that affected sleep patterns were collected and analysed. SBV was used to continuously monitor sleep variables during the hospital stay. The association between subject characteristics and sleep variables was analysed using univariate logistics regression. Variables that showed significant association in univariate analysis were included in multivariate logistics regression to identify the independent risk factors associated with each sleep variable.
Results
A total of 199 participants were included in the final analysis. A significant proportion of study participants demonstrated sleep disturbances; 46.2% had frequent awakening episodes, 58.8% had an average sleep time of less than 6 hours, 79.4% had poor sleep efficiency of 80% or less and 88.4% had sleep latency exceeding 15 minutes. Low Abbreviated Mental Test (AMT) score (7 or lower) was associated with an average sleep time of less than 6 hours, having difficulty to fall asleep and lower sleep efficiency.
Conclusion
Sleep disturbances are prevalent among hospitalised older adults and low AMT score is associated with sleep disturbances.