DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS AND SELF-RATED POOR SLEEP QUALITY AMONG INDONESIAN OLDER ADULTS: A GENDER-STRATIFIED CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

Authors

  • Nopryan Ekadinata School of Nursing, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
  • Nur Fithriyanti Imamah Department of Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Universitas Muhammadiyah Kalimantan Timur, Samarinda, Indonesia
  • Rizka Dwi Pramesthi School of Nursing, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
  • Ines Zuyyina Zahra School of Nursing, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
  • Nadia Vitta Yulianti School of Nursing, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta, Yogyakarta, Indonesia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.34035/jk.v17i2.1914

Keywords:

aging, depressive symptoms, older adults, sleep disturbance

Abstract

Background: Depressive symptoms and sleep disturbances are major challenges in healthy aging. A previous study highlighted the bidirectional consequences of depressive symptoms and sleep disturbances in older adults. However, gender differences in this association remain unclear. The study aimed to examine the association between depressive symptoms and self-rated poor sleep quality based on gender in older Indonesian adults.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using door-to-door interviews with total sampling in a sub-village in Indonesia. The study included 121 older adults from one sub-village. Depressive symptoms were measured using the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS). Sleep disturbance was assessed using a self-rated measure of overall sleep quality. Pearson’s chi-square and crude logistic regression by gender were utilized to infer the significant association.
Results: The prevalence of depressive symptoms and sleep disturbances was 19% and 15.7%, respectively. Older women experience more sleep disturbances. Pearson chi-squared analysis resulted in the significant effects of depressive symptoms and sleep disturbance in older men only. Moreover, higher depressive symptoms corresponded to a higher probability of sleep disturbance in the general population (OR=3.135, p<0.05).
Conclusion: The study confirms previous findings that underline the negative effects of depressive symptoms on sleep in older adults. The current study’s results can be used by health professionals to tailor specific programs to reduce depressive symptoms and improve sleep quality in older adults. 

References

Broström, A., Wahlin, Å., Alehagen, U., Ulander, M., & Johansson, P. (2018). Sex‐specific associations between self‐reported sleep duration, depression, anxiety, fatigue and daytime sleepiness in an older community‐dwelling population. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences, 32(1), 290–298. https://doi.org/10.1111/scs.12461

Brouwer, A., van de Ven, P. M., Kok, A., Snoek, F. J., Beekman, A. T. F., & Bremmer, M. A. (2022). Symptoms of depression and insomnia in older age: A within‐individual analysis over 20 years. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 70(7), 2051–2059. https://doi.org/10.1111/jgs.17765

Budiman, S., S., H., F., & Apriliyasari, R. W. (2024). Comparative insomnia prevalence between geriatrics living in urban and rural areas: a multicenter nationwide study analysis. BMC Public Health, 24(1), 2385. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-19876-x

De Feijter, M., Kocevska, D., Ikram, M. A., & Luik, A. I. (2023). The bidirectional association of 24-h activity rhythms and sleep with depressive symptoms in middle-aged and elderly persons. Psychological Medicine, 53(4), 1418–1425. https://doi.org/10.1017/S003329172100297X

Diallo, I., Bass, J., Musci, R., Adams, L., Gallo, J., & Spira, A. (2024). DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS, SLEEP, AND QUALITY OF LIFE IN ADULTS WITH CHRONIC CONDITIONS. Innovation in Aging, 8(Supplement_1), 1020–1020. https://doi.org/10.1093/geroni/igae098.3284

Fernandes, M., Antonucci, M., Capecci, F., Mercuri, N. B., Della-Morte, D., & Liguori, C. (2024). Prevalence of sleep disorders in geriatrics: an exploratory study using sleep questionnaires. Geriatric Nursing, 60, 107–113. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gerinurse.2024.08.032

Fu, T., Guo, R., Wang, H., Yu, S., & Wu, Y. (2025). The prevalence and risk factors of sleep disturbances in community-dwelling older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Sleep and Breathing, 29(1), 110. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11325-025-03267-6

Hidayati, L. N., & Wardani, E. K. (2025). The Differences in Depression Levels in Elderly Living at Tresna Werdha Nursing Home and at Home. Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences, 21(s3), 98–104. https://doi.org/10.47836/mjmhs.21.s3.15

Hirokawa, Kumi, Yasuhito Fujii, Toshiyo Taniguchi, and Morihiro Tsujishita. 2022. “Associations of Testosterone and Cortisol Concentrations with Sleep Quality in Japanese Male Workers.” Comprehensive Psychoneuroendocrinology 12:100158. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpnec.2022.100158.

Husnayain, A., Ekadinata, N., Sulistiawan, D., & Chia-Yu Su, E. (2020). Multimorbidity Patterns of Chronic Diseases among Indonesians: Insights from Indonesian National Health Insurance (INHI) Sample Data. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(23), 8900. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17238900

Hussainy, S. A., & Shereen, S. (2024). Blood Pressure in Relation to Age and Gender. Journal of Drug Delivery and Therapeutics, 14(3), 39–43. https://doi.org/10.22270/jddt.v14i3.6456

Köhler, C. A., T. H. Freitas, M. Maes, N. Q. de Andrade, C. S. Liu, B. S. Fernandes, B. Stubbs, M. Solmi, N. Veronese, N. Herrmann, C. L. Raison, B. J. Miller, K. L. Lanctôt, and A. F. Carvalho. 2017. “Peripheral Cytokine and Chemokine Alterations in Depression: A Meta-Analysis of 82 S tudies.” Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica 135(5):373–87. doi: 10.1111/acps.12698

Keil, S. A., Schindler, A. G., Wang, M. X., Piantino, J., Silbert, L. C., Elliott, J. E., Werhane, M. L., Thomas, R. G., Willis, S., Lim, M. M., & Iliff, J. J. (2023). Longitudinal Sleep Patterns and Cognitive Impairment in Older Adults. JAMA Network Open, 6(12), e2346006. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.46006

Li, L., Li, L., Chai, J.-X., Xiao, L., Ng, C. H., Ungvari, G. S., & Xiang, Y.-T. (2020). Prevalence of Poor Sleep Quality in Patients With Hypertension in China: A Meta-analysis of Comparative Studies and Epidemiological Surveys. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00591

Li, W., Sun, L., Yue, L., & Xiao, S. (2023). The left temporal transverse cortex is affected by poor sleep quality, which in turn contributes to depressive symptoms in older adults. Heliyon, 9(10), e20751. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e20751

Liu, C., Ye, Z., Chen, L., Wang, H., Wu, B., Li, D., Pan, S., Qiu, W., & Ye, H. (2024). Interaction effects between sleep-related disorders and depression on hypertension among adults: a cross-sectional study. BMC Psychiatry, 24(1), 482. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-024-05931-9

Liu, H., Fan, X., Luo, H., Zhou, Z., Shen, C., Hu, N., & Zhai, X. (2021). Comparison of Depressive Symptoms and Its Influencing Factors among the Elderly in Urban and Rural Areas: Evidence from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS). International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(8), 3886. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18083886

Nassir, Ghaemi S. 2025. “Special Report: Validity in Psychiatric Diagnosis: DSM and Mood Conditions.” Psychiatric News 60. doi: 10.1176/appi.pn.2025.06.6.16

Naviganuntana, Y., Kerdcharoen, N., & Rawdaree, P. (2022). Factors Associated with Depressive Symptoms in Elderly Individuals Living in Urban Communities. Psychology Research and Behavior Management, Volume 15, 855–864. https://doi.org/10.2147/PRBM.S348782

Niu, Y., Sun, Y., Xie, Y., & Yu, S. (2025). Association between sleep patterns and depression in older adults: a cross-sectional study using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2007–2014. BMC Geriatrics, 25(1), 56. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-024-05633-7

Peng, Y.-T., Hsu, Y.-H., Chou, M.-Y., Chu, C.-S., Su, C.-S., Liang, C.-K., Wang, Y.-C., Yang, T., Chen, L.-K., & Lin, Y.-T. (2021). Factors associated with insomnia in older adult outpatients vary by gender: a cross-sectional study. BMC Geriatrics, 21(1), 681. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-021-02643-7

Qin, B., Li, Z., Xia, G., Wang, X., & Bai, R. (2025). Bidirectional relationship between afternoon naps and depressive symptoms in Chinese middle-aged and older adults: Evidence from a nationally representative cohort study. Journal of Affective Disorders, 375, 380–389. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2025.01.122

Ren, C.-Y., Rao, J.-X., Zhang, X.-X., Zhang, M., Xia, L., & Chen, G.-H. (2021). Changed signals of blood adenosine and cytokines are associated with parameters of sleep and/or cognition in the patients with chronic insomnia disorder. Sleep Medicine, 81, 42–51. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sleep.2021.02.005

Wu, Y., Fan, L., Xia, F., Zhou, Y., Wang, H., Feng, L., Xie, S., Xu, W., Xie, Z., He, J., Liu, D., He, S., Xu, Y., Deng, J., Wang, T., & Chen, L. (2024). Global, regional, and national time trends in incidence for depressive disorders, from 1990 to 2019: an age-period-cohort analysis for the GBD 2019. Annals of General Psychiatry, 23(1), 28. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12991-024-00513-1

You, S., & Kim, G. (2023). Sleep Disturbance And Depressive Symptoms Among Older Adults: Do Gender Differences Exist? Innovation in Aging, 7(Supplement_1), 960–960. https://doi.org/10.1093/geroni/igad104.3085

Zhang, C., Chang, Y., Yun, Q., Lu, J., Zheng, X., Xue, Y., Zhao, X., Yuan, W., Zou, J., & Zheng, J. (2022). The impact of chronic diseases on depressive symptoms among the older adults: The role of sleep quality and empty nest status. Journal of Affective Disorders, 302, 94–100. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2022.01.090

Zheng, Y., Zhang, C., & Liu, Y. (2024). Risk prediction models of depression in older adults with chronic diseases. Journal of Affective Disorders, 359, 182–188. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2024.05.078

Downloads

Published

2026-07-31

Issue

Section

Articles