Elucidating the associations between sleep disturbance and depression, fatigue, and pain in older adults with cancer

Kah Poh Loh, Jason Zittel, Sindhuja Kadambi, Chintan Pandya, Huiwen Xu, Marie Flannery, Allison Magnuson, Javier Bautista, Colin McHugh, Karen Mustian, William Dale, Paul Duberstein, Supriya G. Mohile

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

12 Scopus citations

Abstract

Objectives: Sleep disturbance is prevalent and often coexists with depression, fatigue, and pain in the cancer population. The aim of this study was to describe the prevalence of sleep disturbance with co-existing depression, fatigue, and pain in older patients with cancer. We also examined the associations of several socio-demographic and clinical variables with sleep disturbance. Methods: This cross-sectional study consisted of 389 older patients with solid and hematologic malignancies who were referred to the Specialized Oncology Care & Research in the Elderly (SOCARE) clinics at the Universities of Rochester and Chicago between May 2011 and October 2015 and completed a sleep and geriatric assessment (that inquires about fatigue, pain, and depression). Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify variables associated with sleep disturbance. Results: The prevalence of sleep disturbance was 40%. Of those with sleep disturbance (n = 154), 84% also had at least one of the other three symptoms (25% had one symptom, 38% had two symptoms, and 21% had three symptoms). Sleep disturbance was more likely to be reported in those with comorbidities (45% vs. 28%, P = 0.002), depression (49% vs. 36%, P = 0.015), fatigue (49% vs. 23%, P < 0.001), and pain (45% vs. 31%, P = 0.010). On multivariable analysis, only fatigue (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 1.90, 95% CI 1.10–3.30, P = 0.020) was independently associated with sleep disturbance. Conclusions: Sleep disturbance is prevalent and often co-occurs with depression, fatigue, or pain in older patients with cancer. Fatigue was significantly associated with sleep disturbance and future studies should explore interventions that target sleep disturbance and fatigue.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)464-468
Number of pages5
JournalJournal of Geriatric Oncology
Volume9
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 2018
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Cancer
  • Depression
  • Older adults
  • Pain
  • Sleep disturbance

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Oncology
  • Geriatrics and Gerontology

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