Clinical Interventions in Aging (Jan 2019)

The relationship between sleep disturbances and quality of life in elderly patients with hypertension

  • Uchmanowicz I,
  • Markiewicz K,
  • Uchmanowicz B,
  • Kołtuniuk A,
  • Rosińczuk J

Journal volume & issue
Vol. Volume 14
pp. 155 – 165

Abstract

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Izabella Uchmanowicz,1 Karolina Markiewicz,1 Bartosz Uchmanowicz,1 Aleksandra Kołtuniuk,2 Joanna Rosińczuk2 1Department of Clinical Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, Wroclaw Medical University, 51-618 Wroclaw, Poland; 2Department of Nervous System Diseases, Faculty of Health Sciences, Wroclaw Medical University, 51-618 Wroclaw, Poland Purpose: Sleep disorders, such as insomnia with objective short sleep duration, are associated with increased risk of hypertension. The objective of the study was to evaluate the effects of insomnia and daytime sleepiness on the quality of life (QOL) among elderly hypertensive patients.Patients and methods: This cross-sectional study covered 100 patients with hypertension. All participants completed standardized questionnaires, such as the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), the Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS), and the World Health Organization Quality of Life-Brief (WHOQOL-BREF), and clinical data were obtained from patients’ medical records.Results: We showed that more than half of the patients experienced insomnia (AIS score ≥6) and 39% experienced daytime sleepiness. Daytime sleepiness was negatively associated with perceived QOL (r=-0.478, P<0.001). It was also shown that insomnia might be influenced by older age (P<0.001), occupational activity (P=0.011), overweight (body mass index [BMI] 25–30) (P=0.042), and longer duration of illness (P=0.049) among hypertensive patients.Conclusion: Sleep problems have a significant negative impact on the QOL in patients with hypertension, especially in the physical domain of the QOL questionnaire. The occurrence of sleep problems in patients with hypertension is influenced by older age, primary education, overweight, occupational activity, and longer duration of illness. Keywords: daytime sleepiness, hypertension, insomnia, sleep problems, quality of life, Epworth Sleepiness Scale, Athens Insomnia Scale

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