Associations among stress, depressive symptoms, and insomnia in elders

ABSTRACT Objectives: To identify an association between emotional variables (stress and depressive symptoms) and the self-report of difficulty sleeping in the elderly. Methods: Descriptive, quantitative and cross-sectional study with 341 elderly people registered in Family Health Units in the city of São Carlos - SP were interviewed, divided into (a) Self-reported group without difficulty and (b) Group with difficulty sleeping self-reported. The instruments for data collection were Characterization Sheet for the Elderly with Specific Question of Difficulty in Self-Reported Sleep, Perceived Stress Scale and Geriatric Depression Scale. Results: The difficulty to sleep was self-reported in 47.5% of the sample (n = 162). The stress levels of the elderly group with difficulty sleeping were higher (M = 21.29 points) than in the group without difficulty sleeping (M = 15.97) (U = 10034.50; p = 0.010). In addition, elderly people with difficulty sleeping had a higher number of depressive symptoms (M = 4.41 points) when compared to those without difficulty sleeping (M = 3.09 points) (U = 10427.50, p = 0.000). Conclusion: The study observed that elderly people who self-reported difficulty sleeping had higher levels of stress and higher scores on the scale of depressive symptoms, allowing concluding that there is an association between emotional variables and difficulty sleeping in the elderly.

摘要 研究目的：明确老年人情绪变量（压力与抑郁症状）与自我报告睡眠困难之间的关联。研究方法：本研究为描述性、定量横断面研究，共访谈了圣保罗州圣卡洛斯市家庭健康单元登记在册的341名老年人，将其划分为(a)自我报告无睡眠困难组与(b)自我报告睡眠困难组。数据收集工具包括《老年人睡眠困难自我报告特异性问题概况表》、感知压力量表（Perceived Stress Scale）以及老年抑郁量表（Geriatric Depression Scale）。研究结果：样本中有47.5%的老年人（n=162）自我报告存在睡眠困难。睡眠困难组老年人的压力水平均值为21.29分，显著高于无睡眠困难组的15.97分（U=10034.50；p=0.010）。此外，睡眠困难组老年人的抑郁症状得分均值为4.41分，同样高于无睡眠困难组的3.09分（U=10427.50，p=0.000）。研究结论：本研究发现，自我报告存在睡眠困难的老年人其压力水平与抑郁症状得分均更高，由此可证实老年人的情绪变量与睡眠困难之间存在关联。