Relationship Among Depression, Psychological Distress, and Sleep Disturbances Among Older Persons with Chronic Illness

Abstract

Background/Purpose: Sleep is considered a vital and significant function to maintain physical, emotional and mental wellbeing. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between depression, psychological distress and sleep disturbances among older persons with chronic illnesses. Methods: Cross-sectional, descriptive-correlational design was used to recruit 820 older persons diagnosed with chronic illness. Structured format of data collection was used. Data was collected using depression, psychological distress and sleep disturbances scales. Results: The analysis showed that older persons have slight to mild level of depression, moderate level of sleep disturbances, and about half of them are likely to have a moderate severe disorder due to psychological distress. The two-steps multiple hierarchical regression showed that working status (β =-0.084, p=0.005) depression (β=-8.35, 0.004) and psychological distress (β =18.42, <0.001) were significant predictors of sleep disturbances (R2 =0.442, F6,820 =22.5, p <0.001). The analysis showed that there were significant differences between males and females in depression and psychological distress, and sleep disturbances (p <0.05). Conclusion: Depression, psychological distress, age, and working status are the main predictors of sleep disturbances of older persons.