Insomnia May Forecast Depression, Thinking Problems in Older Adults

A 12-month study in Sleep analyzed people older than 60 with depression who visited primary care centers in New York City, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh to explore the link between worsening insomnia and depression, according to U.S. News & World Report . Compared to subjects whose sleep improved, those with compounded insomnia were about 28 times more likely to be diagnosed with major depression at the study's conclusion. Participants whose sleep worsened also had nearly 12 times the likelihood of minor depression and were 10 percent more likely to report thinking of suicide. Meanwhile, those with persistent but not worsening insomnia were more likely to have lasting depression compared to those whose sleep improved — but their risk was not as elevated as whose insomnia worsened. "We can't say that the sleep disturbances we're seeing are necessarily causing the poor depression outcomes," said Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Professor Adam Spira. "But the results suggest that older adults who are being treated for depression and whose sleep problems are persistent or worsening need further clinical attention."