Sleep-related injury in the elderly--an epidemiological study in Hong Kong.
OBJECTIVE
Sleep-related injury is a serious but under-recognized condition. We examined the occurrence of sleep-related injuries and REM sleep behavior disorder (RSBD) in a community sample of elderly in Hong Kong.


METHODS
A representative sample of elderly aged 70 years or above were interviewed with a screening question on the presence of sleep-related injuries. Those who answered affirmatively as well as a subsample of negative responders were interviewed by clinicians. Patients with suspected sleep disorders underwent physical and psychiatric assessment as well as sleep studies.


METHODS
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METHODS
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METHODS
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RESULTS
In total, 1034 elderly were surveyed and 0.8% reported history of sleep-related injury. Four subjects were confirmed to have RSBD, giving an estimated prevalence of RSBD of 0.38% (95% CI=0.01 to 0.76%). One subject had suspected RSBD but refused investigations while 1 had history suggestive of transient RSBD but could not be confirmed by the sleep studies. The course of RSBD in these subjects was that of a waxing and waning course instead of a progressive deterioration as described in previous literature. Two patients had been hospitalized for sleep-related injury before but their sleep disorder was not recognized.


CONCLUSIONS
We found that sleep-related injury and RSBD were not rare in the elderly but were frequently under-recognized. Our study calls for greater attention to elderly who had sustained injury during sleep.
Chiu
H F
HF
Department of Psychiatry, Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Wing
Y K
YK
Lam
L C
LC
Li
S W
SW
Lum
C M
CM
Leung
T
T
Ho
C K
CK
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006723:Hong Kong / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D020187:REM Sleep Behavior Disorder / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology