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Nightmares in Relation to Sleep and Sensory Organ Functions in the Elderly
Ragnar Asplund M.D., Ph.D
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The present study,a questionnaire survey,was undertaken to assess the relationship
between nightmares and sleep and between nightmares and sensory organ
dysfunctions in a large group of elderly persons.The survey comprised 6,103 elderly
subjects (39.5%men).The ages (mean ±standard deviation)of the male and female
participants were 73.0 ±6.0 and 72.6 ±6.7 years,respectively.Poor sleep was reported
by 14.4%of the men and 28.1%of the women (p<0.0001).Frequent nightmares
were reported by 9.0 %of the men and 11.9 %of the women (p<0.05).Compared
with men and women without nightmares,the sleep time to first awakening was
shorter,time taken to get to sleep after nocturnal awakening was longer,longest
uninterrupted sleep period was shorter and total nocturnal time in bed was longer in
nightmare sufferers of both sexes.In a multiple logistic regression analysis with age,
visual status,hearing and tinnitus as the independent variables and nightmares as the
dependent variable,nightmares were 1.5 (1.0-2.3)times more frequent in men with
than without hearing impairment and 2.2 (1.4-3.4)times more frequent in men with
than without tinnitus but were unaffected by visual status and age.In women
nightmares were 1.9 (1.3-2.5)times more frequent in association with visual
impairment but unaffected by hearing impairment,tinnitus and age.It is concluded
that the occurrence of nightmares in the elderly is associated with different kinds of
sleep disturbances.Visual impairment,hearing impairment and tinnitus were all
associated with increased nightmares.(Sleep and Hypnosis 2004;6(1):1-7)
| Keywords: elderly, hearing impairment, nightmares, sleep, tinnitus, visual impairment |
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