Cognitive Function and Sleep in Caregivers of Persons Living with Dementia.
Glenna S Brewster, Victor Molinari, Christina McCrae and 3 others
PMID 34467789WHAT IT FOUND
Family caregivers of people with dementia who had poor sleep had total cognitive scores no different from expected norms, but speed of thinking was lower, while knowledge and language were higher.
Sleep diary measures were not linked to scores.
Key findings
01Total cognitive function scores did not differ significantly from demographically adjusted normative scores.
02Caregivers scored significantly higher than the norms on crystallized cognition and significantly lower on fluid cognition, especially processing speed.
03Sleep diary measures were not significantly correlated with total, fluid, or crystallized cognition scores.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study used a small sample of 28 caregivers. It was cross-sectional, so it cannot show whether poor sleep caused lower cognitive scores or whether lower cognition led to poor sleep. All caregivers had poor sleep, so the study cannot compare caregivers with good sleep and poor sleep. Sleep was measured only with diaries, not objective sleep monitoring. The study did not assess how long caregivers had sleep problems or when they started caregiving. The cognitive battery is brief and does not test all cognitive domains. Some caregivers may have been intimidated by the computer test. That could affect scores. The sample had few minority participants. Other factors such as health conditions, medications, and employment status were not accounted for.
Declared interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that poor sleep caused lower cognitive function. The study was cross-sectional, included 28 caregivers, and found no significant correlations between sleep diary measures and cognitive scores.