Factors related with sleep disorders in geriatric patients and their effect onquality of life

Elderly patients are at risk for a variety of sleep disorders. Chronic sleep disorders are linked to impaired mood, reduced quality of life, increased risk of accidents and increased rates of health care utilization. Inadequate and ineffective sleep are related with significantly increased morbidity and mortality, reduced quality of life, increased depression and anxiety, difficulty in balance and ambulation, an increased risk of falling and increased potential for the need of a caregiver especially in elderly population. Therefore, this disorder merits clinical attention and research. Our aim is to determine the factors related with sleep disorders in geriatric patients and their effect on quality of life, and observe the relationship between physical function, depression and anxiety semptoms, psychological well-being and psychopharmaceutical intake. The study included 100 patients who were over 65 years old and their mini mental test examination score were more than 11 points and functional ambulation scale score were 4 or more points. Patients who have severe stroke or other neurological disorder, severe cognitive impairment and psychiatric disorder were excluded. Patients were divided into two groups with and without sleep problems. Sleep state was asssessed with Medical Outcomes Study Sleep Scale (MOS-SS). Depressive mood was determined by geriatric depression scale. Comorbidity levels were determined by the Charlson comorbidity index. Quality of life was assessed using the Short Form- 36 Heart Survey (SF- 36). In our study we determined sleep disorders in %48 of individuals. When factors thought to affect sleep were evaluated together in geriatric individuals, only SF-36 mental health score was statistically significant.