Suicide And Sleep Disturbances Among The Elderly Linked

Self-reported sleep complaints among the elderly serve as a risk factor for completed suicide, according to a research abstract presented at SLEEP 2007, the 21st Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies (APSS).

The study, conducted by Rebecca Bernert of Florida State University, focused on data that were collected among 14,456 community elders over a 10-year period. During this time frame, 21 individuals died by suicide. When each suicide was matched to 20 randomly-selected controls, it was discovered that disturbances in sleep, independent of depression, predicted an increased risk for eventual death by suicide.

"This suggests that, as a warning sign, poor sleep quality constitutes a significant and modifiable risk factor for completed suicide," said Bernert. "Evaluating sleep among at-risk patients may therefore guide and importantly inform both clinical decision-making and suicide risk assessment."

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