Predictors of improvement in subjective sleep quality reported by older adults following group-based cognitive behavior therapy for sleep maintenance and early morning awakening insomnia.

OBJECTIVE: Cognitive behavior therapy is an effective nonpharmacologic treatment for insomnia. However, individualized administration is costly and often results in substantial variability in treatment response across individual patients, particularly so for older adults. Group-based administration has demonstrated impressive potential for a brief and inexpensive answer to the effective treatment of insomnia in the older population. It is important to identify potential predictors of response to such a treatment format to guide clinicians when selecting the most suitable treatment for their patients. The aim of our study was to identify factors that predict subjective sleep quality of older adults following group-based administration of cognitive behavior therapy for insomnia (CBT-I).

METHODS: Eighty-six adults (41 men; mean age, 64.10 y; standard deviation [SD], 6.80) with sleep maintenance or early morning awakening insomnia were selected from a community-based sample to participate in a 4-week group-based treatment program of CBT-I. Participants were required to complete 7-day sleep diaries and a comprehensive battery of questionnaires related to sleep quality and daytime functioning. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were used to identify factors predicting subjective sleep quality immediately following treatment and at 3-month follow-up. Sleep diaries reported average nightly sleep efficiency (SE), which was used as the outcome measure of sleep quality.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Participants with the greatest SE following treatment while controlling for pretreatment SE were relatively younger and had more confidence in their ability to sleep at pretreatment. These characteristics may be useful to guide clinicians when considering the use of a group-based CBT-I for sleep maintenance or early morning awakening insomnia in older adults.