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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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| Sleep disturbances and falls in older people | | Author(s) | Elizabeth Latimer Hill, Robert G Cumming, Ray Lewis |
| Journal title | Journals of Gerontology: Series A, Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences, vol 62A, no 1, January 2007 |
| Pages | pp 62-65 |
| Source | http://www.geron.org |
| Keywords | Sleep disorders ; Falls ; Cross sectional surveys ; Australia. |
| Annotation | Cross-sectional studies were performed in hostels and an Internet-based survey was posted on the Greypath website regarding falls and sleep disturbance. There were 150 participants (mean age 81 ±8 years) in 8 residential aged hostels in Sydney and 150 respondents (mean age 70 ±5 years) to the internet survey. Sleep disturbances were reported by most participants in both surveys. For hostel participants, falls were associated with poor sleep quality and number of nocturnal awakenings (2.5 ±1.5 vs 2 ±1.4). Other risk factors for falls included Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) score, pain, Timed Get Up and Go Test score, and the use of diuretics. For the Internet respondents, risk factors for falls included poor health rating and the use of spectacles, bifocals and walking aids; fewer falls were reported by those participants without any sleep disturbances. This Australian study finds that sleep disturbances are common in older people and are associated with their risk of falling. Internet-based surveys may be a useful adjunct to research on older people. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-070926217 A |
| Classmark | CTS: OLF: 3KB: 7YA |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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