Care home residents with dementia: Prevalence, incidence, and associations with sleep disturbance in an English cohort study

Abstract Introduction People living with dementia in care homes often have sleep disturbances, but little is known about incidence and importance. Methods We interviewed 1483 participants in 97 care homes and report prevalence, 1‐year incidence, and baseline associations of clinically significant sleep disturbance in people with dementia. Results Baseline prevalence of clinically significant sleep disturbance was 13.7% (200/1460); 31.3% (457/1462) had them at least once over 16 months. One‐year incidence was 25.2%. At baseline, residents with sleep disturbance had lower quality of life (mean difference –4.84; 95% confidence interval [CI] –6.53 to –3.16) and were more frequently prescribed sleep medications (odds ratio 1.75; CI 1.17 to 2.61) than other residents. Discussion Approximately one‐third of care home residents with dementia have or develop sleep disturbances over 1 year. These are associated with lower quality of life and prescription of sedatives, which may have negative outcomes; therefore, it is important to develop effective treatments.