POOR SLEEP RAISES SUICIDE RISK IN OLDER ADULTS
Older adults suffering
from sleep disturbances are more likely to die by suicide than well-rested
adults, according to a study led by a researcher at the Stanford University
School of Medicine
"This
is important because sleep disturbances are highly treatable, yet arguably less
stigmatizing than many other suicide risk factors," said Rebecca Bernert,
PhD, lead author of the study. Bernert is an instructor of psychiatry and
behavioral sciences and director of the Suicide Prevention Research Laboratory
at Stanford.
The
study will be published Aug. 13 in JAMA Psychiatry.
Bernert
said older adults have disproportionately higher rates of suicide risk compared
to other age groups, making suicide prevention in elderly populations a
pressing public health challenge.
Using
data from an epidemiological study of 14,456 adults aged 65 and older, Bernert
and her colleagues compared the sleep quality of 20 who died by suicide with
the sleep patterns of 400 similar individuals over a 10-year period.
They
found that participants reporting poor sleep had a 1.4 times greater chance of
death by suicide within a 10-year period than participants who reported
sleeping well.
The
study confirmed the relationship between depression and suicide risk, while
also assessing poor sleep as an independent risk factor. "Our findings
suggest that poor sleep quality may serve as a stand-alone risk factor for
late-life suicide," Bernert said.
Surprisingly,
the study found that, when comparing the two risk factors, poor sleep predicted
risk better than depressive symptoms. The combination of poor sleep and
depressed mood was the strongest predictor of suicide risk.
"Suicide
is the outcome of multiple, often interacting biological, psychological and
social risk factors," Bernert said. "Disturbed sleep stands apart as
a risk factor and warning sign in that it may be undone, which highlights its
importance as a screening tool and potential treatment target in suicide prevention.
"Suicide
is preventable," she added. "Yet interventions for suicide prevention
are alarmingly scarce."
Bernert
has two studies now underway testing the effectiveness of an insomnia treatment
for the prevention of depression and suicidal behaviors.
Most
of the study's suicide decedents were white men, which reflects a group at
heightened risk for suicide in the general population, Bernert said, noting
that additional research is needed to see if the correlation between disturbed
sleep and suicide risk extends to women, minorities and younger adults or
teenagers.
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