Sleep and aging

Taste sensitivity throughout age and the relationship with the sleep quality

Objective

The aim of the present study was to evaluate taste sensitivity and sleep pattern throughout age.

Methods

Thirty-five male adults aged (25.05±0.71 years), and twenty- four older adults (68.92 ± 6.43 years) were selected and submitted to sleep evaluation (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and Epworth Sleepiness Scale), as well as taste sensitivity. Taste sensitivity was evaluated using three dilutions and the different concentrations were presented for the four basic flavors (salty, sweet, bitter and sour). These samples were encoded with three digits and randomly presented to the participants in 50 mL plastic cups.

Results

In both groups, sleep quality was poor (PSQI >5). Older adults presented a negative effect to identify sweet and salty taste and, in this population, sleep time was associated with sweet taste perception.

Discussion

We may suggest that aging may cause changes in taste sensitivity, as well as total sleep time was observed to be a significant predictor of sweet taste. Sleep may play an important role in taste sensitivity, although the mechanisms are still unknown. Thus, the results of this research may contribute to the emergence of new studies that seek to better understand this relationship of sleep quality as taste sensitivity.

Relationship between perceived sleep and polysomnography in older adult patients

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Aging is a multifactorial process that elicits changes in the duration and quality of sleep. Polysomnography is considered to be the standard examination for the analysis of sleep and consists of the simultaneous recording of selected physiological variables during sleep.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this study was to use polysomnography to compare sleep reported by senior citizens.

METHODS

We selected 40 patients, both male and female, with ages ranging from 64 to 89 years from the Center for the Study of Aging at the Federal University of São Paulo. Patients answered questions about sleep on the Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment and underwent polysomnography.

RESULTS

The results were compared, and agreement between perceived sleep and polysomnography was found in several areas. There was an association between difficulty sleeping and sleep onset latency (p=0.015), waking up at night with sleep onset latency (p=0.005), total sleep time with daytime sleepiness (0.005) and snoring (0.027), sleep efficiency with sleepiness (0.004), snoring (0.033) and pause in breathing (p=0.024), awakenings with snoring (p=0.012) and sleep apnea with pauses in breathing (p=0.001).

CONCLUSION

These results suggest that the older adult population have a good perception of their sleep. The questionnaires aimed at this population should be used as an alternative to polysomnography.

Síndrome da apneia obstrutiva do sono (Saos) e sonolência diurna excessiva (SDE): influência sobre os riscos e eventos de queda em idosos

INTRODUÇÃO: Muitos países vêm experimentando o processo de envelhecimento populacional e a consequente elevação das doenças associadas a ele, como dificuldade de manter o equilíbrio, perdas na qualidade do sono e síndrome da apneia obstrutiva do sono (Saos). OBJETIVOS:Investigar a correlação entre a Saos e sonolência diurna excessiva (SDE) com os riscos e eventos de quedas em indivíduos idosos. MATERIAIS E MÉTODOS:Estudo descritivo, comparativo, de corte transversal com amostra de 75 indivíduos com idade igual ou superior a 60 anos, gêneros masculino e feminino. Foram utilizados o mini-exame do estado mental; escalas de depressão geriátrica simplificada; de sonolência de epworth; de avaliação do equilíbrio de tinneti; índice de massa corporal (IMC); registros estabilométricos das oscilações posturais ântero-posterior (AP) e médio-lateral (ML). RESULTADOS: Maior prevalência de Saos no gênero masculino. Não foi encontrada correlação com significância estatística (Pearson, p ≤ 0,01) entre as variáveis IMC e estabilometria. Não houve correlação estatisticamente significativa (ANOVA, p ≤ 0,05) entre IMC (subgrupos normal, sobrepeso, graus I, II, III, e IV) e estabilometria; entre os graus de severidade de Saos e estabilometria; entre dados estabilométricos de subgrupos de IMC e mesmo grau de severidade de Saos; entre dados estabilométricos de subgrupos de IMC e diferentes graus de Saos; entre os diferentes graus de Saos (GC, G1), (GC e G2), subgrupos de IMC e registros estabilométricos. CONCLUSÃO: Não foram encontrados resultados que corroborassem a hipótese de proporcionalidade entre graus de severidade de Saos, IMC e registro estabilométrico.

Psychosocial predictors of changing sleep patterns in aging women: a multiple pathway approach

The authors of this investigation sought to examine changes in the sleep quality of older women over time and to determine whether dimensions of psychological well-being, health (subjective health and number of illnesses), and psychological distress (depression and anxiety) predict these changes. A secondary analysis was conducted with a longitudinal sample of aging women (Kwan, Love, Ryff, & Essex, 2003). Of 518 community-dwelling older women in the parent study, 115 women (baseline M age = 67 years, SD = 7.18) with data at baseline, 8 years, and 10 years were used for this investigation. Participants completed self-administered questionnaires and participated in in-home interviews and observations. Growth curve modeling was used to examine the overall linear trajectories of sleep quality. Growth mixture modeling was used to examine whether there were different patterns of change in sleep quality over time and to examine baseline predictors of each pattern. Sleep quality declined over time but not for all women. Two distinctly different sleep patterns emerged: good but declining sleep quality and disrupted sleep quality. Higher psychological well-being (positive relations with others, environmental mastery, personal growth, purpose in life, and self-acceptance), fewer illnesses, and lower depression scores at baseline predicted reduced odds for membership in the disrupted sleep group. Future research is needed to examine whether interventions focused on maintaining or enhancing psychological well-being could minimize later life declines in sleep quality.

Qualidade do sono de idosos residentes em instituição de longa permanência

Este estudo teve como objetivo avaliar a qualidade do sono de idosos residentes em quatro instituições de longa permanência para idosos (ILPI) de uma cidade do interior do estado de São Paulo e identificar problemas relacionados ao sono. Participaram 38 idosos, cujas funções cognitivas estavam preservadas e que residiam nas ILPI há pelo menos um ano. Foram empregues os instrumentos Ficha de Identificação, Índice de Katz e Índice de Qualidade do Sono de Pittsburgh (PSQI), todos preenchidos pela pesquisadora. Os resultados mostraram que 81,6% dos idosos referiam qualidade do sono boa ou muito boa; entretanto, os seguintes problemas relacionados ao sono destacaram-se por sua elevada frequência: levantar-se para ir ao banheiro (63,2%); acordar no meio da noite ou muito cedo pela manhã (50%); sentir muito calor (23,7%); sentir dores (21,1%). Evidencia-se uma contradição entre a percepção da qualidade do sono e o elevado número de problemas identificados.

Relationships between personal, depression and social network factors and sleep quality in community-dwelling older adults

Improving sleep quality is key to increasing life quality for the elderly. Clarifying the nature of sleep conditions and the factors that influence such is necessary to enrich the base of knowledge available to the clinical nursing profession and encourage effective nursing interventions in older populations. Purposes of this study were to describe sleep quality and identify the personal, depression and social network determinants of sleep quality among older people living independently. A cross-sectional research design was used, and 187 persons 65 years of age or older were recruited using two-stage random sampling from communities in Taipei City, Taiwan. All subjects were informed by the researchers and were asked to provide personal (demographic data, lifestyle behavior), depression, social network (perceived the relationships with and support from family, relatives/friends), and sleep quality (Chinese version of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, C-PSQI) information. Findings revealed that 25.7% of subjects were "poor sleepers" (attaining C-PSQI global scores > 5). The study identified significant relationships between three personal variables (alcohol consumption, educational level, and depressive tendencies), one social variable (relationships with relatives/friends) and sleep quality. Depression tendency, relationships with relatives/friends, college and above educational level, and habitual alcohol consumption accounted for 46.1% of sleep quality variance. Findings enrich the knowledge base by highlighting specific personal, depression and social network factors that could help nurses to assess sleep conditions more comprehensively. Nurses caring for older people should consider depression and social network factors (particularly the relationships with relatives/friends may play a discriminating role) as important determinants of sleep quality.

Changes in REM-sleep percentage over the adult lifespan

STUDY OBJECTIVES

To resolve inconsistencies in previously reported changes in percentage of rapid eye movement sleep (REM%) over the adult lifespan and to identify gaps in available information about adults' REM sleep.

DESIGN

A research synthesis approach specifically designed to detect nonlinear change. Cubic B smoothing splines were fitted to scatterplots generated from reported means and variance for REM%, REM minutes, and total sleep time.

PARTICIPANTS

382 English-language research reports provided REM% values for 4171 subjects; REM minutes values for 2722 subjects; and values of total sleep time for 5037 subjects. Samples were composed of subjects described by authors as normal or healthy. Mean ages of samples ranged from 18.0 to 91.7 years.

SETTING

University research center.

INTERVENTIONS

N/A.

MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS

Two coders extracted information. Intercoder reliability was above cutoffs for excellent. Authors often failed to describe screening procedures used to determine subjects' health status. Few results were reported separately for women. The functional relationship between age and REM% was essentially linear over much of the adult lifespan, decreasing about 0.6% per decade. The best estimate of when REM% ceased its small linear decline was the mid-70s, after which time a small increase in REM% was observed due to REM minutes increasing while total sleep time declined.

CONCLUSIONS

Ability to detect both linear and nonlinear change in REM%, REM minutes, and total sleep time over the lifespan was useful for resolving inconsistent findings about the existence of changes in REM% with aging. This approach to research synthesis also facilitated identification of ages for which little normative information about REM sleep was available.

Depressive symptomatology at age 75 and subsequent use of health and social services

It is well documented that elderly persons are the largest consumers of many health and social services. Consequently it is of interest to identify characteristics of users of those services. The purpose of this study is to examine whether depressive symptoms among men and women at age 75 are an independent determinant of incident hospitalization and use of home help 5 years later. Four hundred and ten men and women participated in a prospective study in Glostrup, Denmark, when they were 75 and 80 years old. Depressive symptoms were evaluated by the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D Scale). Use of health and social services was measured by asking the participants whether they had been hospitalized or used home help during the year before follow-up. Among women, depressive symptoms at age 75 were associated with subsequent use of home help at age 80 (odds ratio (OR) = 2.5; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.2-5.0) and marginally associated with subsequent hospitalization (OR = 1.8; 95% CI: 0.96-3.5). None of these results were seen in men. Preventive services should take into account depressive symptoms among elderly women.

Demographic and sleep characteristics in cognitively impaired nursing home residents with and without severe sleep/wake pattern inefficiency

This study determined the differences in demographic and sleep characteristics in cognitively impaired nursing home residents with and without severe sleep/wake pattern inefficiency. Identification of characteristics associated with severe sleep/wake pattern inefficiency will allow health care providers to make the best cost effective use of finite resources because they can target interventions towards those most likely to need them. This article reports the baseline characteristics of the total sample, compares the demographic and sleep characteristics of the subgroups with and without severe sleep/wake pattern inefficiency, and reviews related literature.

Stress and the aging immune system

Immune functioning decreases with normal aging and with stress. Social and psychological stressors are a part of daily life and the source of life changing events. Across the lifespan, individuals encounter numerous stressors with effects that accrue at sundry rates due to differential stress exposure, differential stress buffering, differential stress reactivity, differential stress duration (recovery), and differential restorative processes. Research on stress in older adults provides evidence that these processes contribute to effects that mimic, exacerbate, and possibly accelerate the effects of aging on immunity.

Sono e envelhecimento

OBJETIVO: descrever aspectos atualizados sobre as alterações e os distúrbios do sono no processo de envelhecimento normal e usual. MÉTODOS: procedeu-se a revisão da arquitetura do sono e ritmo circadiano de sono e vigília para estabelecer o padrão de normalidade e as alterações fisiológicas no processo de envelhecimento, descrevendo-se os distúrbios de sono mais prevalentes no idoso, sua avaliação diagnóstica e o manejo não-farmacológico. O texto foi elaborado a partir da consulta às publicações científicas indexadas no Medline, em outras de acesso on line e em livros textos das áreas de geriatria, psiquiátria geriátrica e medicina do sono. RESULTADOS E CONCLUSÃO: a maioria dos idosos tem queixas relacionadas ao sono decorrentes de mudanças fisiológicas específicas do processo de envelhecimento ou de doenças que podem causar distúrbios secundários de sono. A linha divisória entre a normalidade e o distúrbio pode ser estabelecida por meio de criteriosa avaliação diagnóstica, a qual necessariamente precede e orienta a conduta terapêutica. A maioria dos distúrbios de sono são clinicamente importantes e tratáveis com medidas não-farmacológicas, que incluem a orientação sobre rotinas e rituais de sono, atividades de vida diária e condições ambientais.