Sleep quality and caregiver burden in Alzheimer's disease: focus on sex differences

Introduction The relationship between sleep characteristics in caregivers and care recipients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and caregiver burden, especially regarding sex-related differences, still needs to be clarified. The aims of the present study were to examine associations between caregiver and patient sleep characteristics and caregiver burden, including sex-differences and menopausal status among female caregivers. Methods The SexDemCare study is a multicenter Italian study conducted within the SINdem Study Group “Sex and Gender Differences in Dementia.” Caregivers and their non-institutionalized care recipients with clinically diagnosed AD across different stages of disease severity were enrolled. The Caregiver Burden Inventory was administered. Sleep characteristics of both caregivers and care-recipients were assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Results 238 caregivers (65.9% women; mean age 59.6 ± 12.4 years) and 238 care-recipients (153 women; mean age 77.5 ± 7.9 years) were enrolled. Caregiver burden was associated with snoring, daytime hypersomnolence, longer sleep latency, and use of sleep medication. In sex-stratified analysis, caregiver burden was associated with several sleep characteristics only among female caregivers. Discussion Female caregivers may be especially vulnerable to the negative consequences of poor sleep on caregiving burden.