Objective: To explore the relationship between caregiver sleep quality and caregiver and care recipient characteristics in Lewy Body Dementia (LBD).

Background: LBD family caregivers have higher rates of caregiver strain, comorbidities, and poorer sleep quality than Alzheimer’s Disease caregivers. Poor sleep quality is a potentially modifiable driver of strain and adverse outcomes, yet little research has focused on LBD caregivers. This cross-sectional analysis drawn from an ongoing LBD caregiver study investigates associations between LBD caregiver sleep quality and various caregiver and care recipient factors.

Method: We analyzed baseline data from 254 LBD family caregivers enrolled in an ongoing study (R01AG079128). We used the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI): higher global scores indicate worse sleep (range 0-21, poor sleep >5). PSQI component scores include subjective sleep quality, duration, efficiency, disturbance, and daytime dysfunction. We calculated Pearson and Spearman r correlations between PSQI global and component scores, respectively, with caregiver demographics, caregiver strain (Multidimensional Caregiver Strain Index), and care recipient characteristics: disease duration, dementia severity (Quick Dementia Rating Scale), and dependence for activities of daily living (ADLs).

Results: Mean sleep quality was poor (7.38, SD 3.75, n = 254), with no associations between sleep quality and caregiver gender, race, age, or care recipient’s disease duration. However, overall sleep quality correlated with caregiver strain (Pearson’s r 0.37, p <0.01) and with the care recipient’s dementia severity (r 0.23, p <0.01) and number of dependent ADLs (r 0.16, p = 0.03). Among component scores, subjective sleep quality and sleep duration were each correlated with caregiver strain (Spearman’s r 0.27-0.37, p <0.01) and dementia severity (r 0.21-0.24, p <0.01). Sleep efficiency was correlated with caregiver strain (r 0.25, p <0.01) and ADL dependency (r 0.19, p = 0.01); daytime dysfunction only correlated with caregiver strain (r 0.21, p <0.01).

Conclusion: LBD caregivers have poor sleep quality which is associated with both caregiver strain and the cognitive and motor severity of their loved ones. Longitudinal changes will be examined in this ongoing study to better elucidate causation and trajectory over time. Addressing sleep disturbances through targeted interventions could alleviate caregiver strain and improve caregiver and patient outcomes.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/sleep-quality-among-lewy-body-dementia-family-caregivers/