Association Between Insomnia Symptoms and Cognitive Impairment in the Cretan Aging Cohort

Overview

Journal Eur Geriatr Med

Specialty Geriatrics

Date 2021 Oct 16

PMID 34654220

Citations 11

Authors

Maria Basta

Panagiotis Simos

Antonios Bertsias

George Duijker

Ioannis Zaganas

Eirini Koutentaki

Maria Anastasaki

Giorgos Mavroidis

Georgia Kalomoiri

Symeon Panagiotakis

Christos Lionis

Alexandros Vgontzas

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Purpose: Population aging, characteristic of modern Western societies, is associated with various forms of cognitive decline. Insomnia/insomnia-type symptoms have been reported as modifiable risk factors for cognitive decline. The objective of this study was to examine, in a comprehensive way (a) the prevalence and the risk factors associated with insomnia-type symptoms and (b) the association of insomnia-type symptoms with cognitive impairment in a large, homogeneous, community-dwelling population in the island of Crete, Greece.

Methods: Our sample consisted of 3066 community-dwelling elders aged 60-100 years participating in the Cretan Aging Cohort. All participants were interviewed with a structured questionnaire assessing demographics, physical and mental health, sleep, lifestyle habits and cognitive function using the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE). Furthermore, insomnia-type symptom prevalence was estimated in the presence of one or more sleep complaints. Linear and logistic regression analyses examined (a) the association between insomnia-type symptoms and demographics, physical/mental health and lifestyle and (b) the association between cognition and insomnia-type symptoms.

Results: Prevalence of one or more insomnia-type symptoms was 64.6%. Multivariate analyses showed that female gender, widowhood, benzodiazepine use and physical ailments were significantly associated with insomnia-type symptoms. Multivariate models also showed that insomnia-type symptoms were associated with increased odds of cognitive impairment (p < 0.0001).

Conclusions: In a large population of older people in Crete, Greece, insomnia-type symptoms are very prevalent and associated with increased risk for cognitive impairment. Future studies should assess whether treatment of sleep problems improves or delays the deterioration of cognitive function in older adults.

Citing Articles

Long Objective Sleep Duration is a Marker of Cognitive Impairment in Older Adults: Findings from the Cretan Aging Cohort.

Basta M, Bouloukaki I, Skourti E, Zampetakis A, Alexopoulou C, Ganiaris A J Alzheimers Dis Rep. 2024; 8(1):927-934.

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Long-term associations between objective sleep quality and quantity and verbal memory performance in normal cognition and mild cognitive impairment.

Skourti E, Simos P, Zampetakis A, Koutentaki E, Zaganas I, Alexopoulou C Front Neurosci. 2023; 17:1265016.

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Detection of Insomnia and Its Relationship with Cognitive Impairment, Depression, and Quality of Life in Older Community-Dwelling Mexicans.

Correa-Munoz E, Retana-Ugalde R, Mendoza-Nunez V Diagnostics (Basel). 2023; 13(11).

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Comparative efficacy of hypnotics in young and middle-aged adults with insomnia: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.

Hasan F, Lee H, Chen P, Wang Y, Yuliana L, Romadlon D Sleep Breath. 2023; 27(5):2021-2030.

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The associations of BMI, chronic conditions and lifestyle factors with insomnia symptoms among older adults in India.

Muhammad T, Gharge S, Meher T PLoS One. 2022; 17(9):e0274684.

PMID: 36108066 PMC: 9477301. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0274684.

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