Sleep: A Marker of Physical and Mental Health in the Elderly Kathryn J. Reid, Ph.D., Zoran Martinovich, Ph.D., Sanford Finkel, M.D., Judy Statsinger, M.P.H., Robyn Golden, L.C.S.W., Kathryne Harter, M.S.W., Phyllis C. Zee, M.D., Ph.D. Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the occurrence and recogni- tion of common sleep-related problems and their relationship to health-related qual- ity-of-life measures in the elderly. Method: A total of 1,503 participants with a mean age of 75.5 ( 6.8, range: 62–100) years from 11 primary care sites serving primarily elderly patients were interviewed. Subjects completed a five-item sleep questionnaire and the SF-12. A Physical Component Summary (PCS-12) and Mental Component Summary (MCS-12) score was calculated. A systematic medical chart review was conducted to determine whether sleep problems were identified by the healthcare providers. Results: A total of 68.9% of patients reported at least one sleep complaint and 40% had two or more. Participants most commonly endorsed (45%) that they had “difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or being able to sleep.” The number and type of sleep problems endorsed was associated with both physical and mental health quality-of-life status. Excessive daytime sleepiness was the best predictor of poor mental and physical health-related quality of life. Even when all five sleep questions were endorsed, a sleep complaint was only reported in the chart 19.2% of the time. Conclusions: When elicited, sleep complaints predicted the general physical and mental health-related quality-of-life status in elderly populations with comorbid medical and mental illnesses. Yet, questions regarding sleep are not an integral component of most clinical evaluations. Given the growing evidence of a relationship between sleep and health, identification of sleep disorders could lead to improved management of common age-related chronic illnesses and quality of life of elderly patients. (Am J Geriatr Psychiatry 2006; 14:860–866) Key Words: Sleep, aging, mental health, physical health Received June 8, 2005; revised November 22, 2005; accepted December 15, 2005. From the Departments of Neurology (KJR, PCZ) and Psychiatry (ZM), Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL; the Council for Jewish Elderly (SF, KH), Chicago, IL; the Chicago Department of Public Health (JS), Chicago, IL; Older Adults Program (RG), Rush University Medical School, Chicago, IL. Send correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Phyllis C. Zee, Professor, Neurology Department, Northwestern University Medical School, 710 N. Lakeshore Dr., Abbott Hall, Chicago, IL 60611. E-mail: p-zee@northwestern.edu © 2006 American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry Am J Geriatr Psychiatry 14:10, October 2006 860