Department of Psychology, Sungshin Women's University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Institute for Human Genomic Study, College of Medicine, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Sleep Med. 2021 Feb;78:15-23. doi: 10.1016/j.sleep.2020.11.039. Epub 2020 Dec 4.
Nightmares are extremely unpleasant and vivid recurring dreams that are accompanied with awakening during sleep. However, earlier studies were mostly conducted with children and adults, with very few studies on nightmares in older adults. This population-based study aims to investigate the prevalence of nightmares and its associated factors nightmares in the elderly.
This study utilized a subsample from the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study (KoGES). Participants (n = 2940; mean age 63.71 ± 6.73) completed the questionnaires on nightmares (Disturbing Dream and Nightmare Severity Index; DDNSI), depression, suicidal ideation, sleep quality and stress.
Among the sample, 2.7% (n = 79) were classified into the nightmare group (NG), which was classified with DDNSI scores. In the age group over 70, prevalence of nightmares was 6.3% (n = 37), which was significantly higher than other age groups. Marital status, employment status and family income were associated with nightmares. Additionally, NG reported significantly more sleep problems, higher suicidal ideation, depression and stress compared to the non-nightmare group (N-NG). Logistic regression analyses results indicated that the NG was 4.35 times at higher risk for depression, and 3.16 higher risks for stress, and 3.45 higher risks for suicidal ideation compared to the N-NG after controlling for covariates.
Our results indicate that psychological and demographic factors are associated with nightmares in the elderly. Furthermore, this population-based cohort study showed the prevalence of nightmares increased after age 70, which suggests the need for further studies of nightmares in older populations.
噩梦是一种非常不愉快且生动的反复出现的梦境，会伴随睡眠时的觉醒。然而，早期的研究大多是针对儿童和成年人进行的，很少有关于老年人噩梦的研究。本项基于人群的研究旨在调查老年人噩梦的发生率及其相关因素。
本研究利用了韩国基因组与流行病学研究（KoGES）的一个子样本。参与者（n=2940；平均年龄 63.71±6.73）完成了关于噩梦（噩梦和梦魇严重程度指数；DDNSI）、抑郁、自杀意念、睡眠质量和压力的问卷。
在样本中，2.7%（n=79）被归类为噩梦组（NG），其通过 DDNSI 评分进行分类。在 70 岁以上的年龄组中，噩梦的发生率为 6.3%（n=37），明显高于其他年龄组。婚姻状况、就业状况和家庭收入与噩梦有关。此外，与非噩梦组（N-NG）相比，NG 报告了更多的睡眠问题、更高的自杀意念、抑郁和压力。Logistic 回归分析结果表明，在控制了协变量后，NG 患抑郁的风险增加了 4.35 倍，患压力的风险增加了 3.16 倍，自杀意念的风险增加了 3.45 倍。
我们的研究结果表明，心理和人口统计学因素与老年人的噩梦有关。此外，这项基于人群的队列研究表明，70 岁后噩梦的发生率增加，这表明需要对老年人进行更多的噩梦研究。
