Insomnia is a significant health and quality of life concern for older adults, with up to half of all adults over the age of 65 experiencing insomnia symptoms. In a new study, researchers in the Penn State College of Health and Human Development and at Taipei Medical University analyzed five years of data from older adults in the United States. They found higher levels of both insomnia symptoms and sleep medication use were associated with higher risk of disability a year later.
Every year a person experienced an incremental increase in insomnia symptoms, their risk for becoming disabled in some aspect of their daily life increased by 20%, according to the researchers. A similar level of risk was associated with increased usage of sleep medications. People who regularly experienced insomnia symptoms and used sleep medication were at the highest risk of disability affecting their daily activities.
Results of the study, recently published in the journal Sleep, indicate the importance of properly treating insomnia, the researchers said.
