Depression, Anxiety, Insomnia, and Quality of Life in a Representative Community Sample of Older Adults Living at Home

Leif Edward Ottesen Kennair; Roger Hagen; Odin Hjemdal; Audun Havnen; Truls Ryum; Stian Solem

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.811082

Depression, Anxiety, Insomnia, and Quality of Life in a Representative Community Sample of Older Adults Living at Home

Front Psychol. 2022 Apr 1:13:811082. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.811082. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Leif Edward Ottesen Kennair¹, Roger Hagen^{1

2

3}, Odin Hjemdal¹, Audun Havnen^{1

4}, Truls Ryum¹, Stian Solem¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.
² Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
³ Modum Bad, Research Institute, Vikersund, Norway.
⁴ St. Olavs Hospital, Trondheim, Norway.

Abstract

Background: The aim of the study was to explore symptoms of anxiety and depression, insomnia, and quality of life in a Norwegian community sample of older adults.

Methods: A representative sample (N = 1069) was drawn from home-dwelling people of 60 years and above, living in a large municipality in Norway (Trondheim).

Results: Based on established cut-off scores, 83.7% of the participants showed no symptoms of anxiety/depression, 12% had mild symptoms, 2.7% moderate symptoms, 1.5% showed severe symptoms of anxiety/depression. A total of 18.4% reported insomnia symptoms. Regarding health-related quality of life, few participants reported problems with self-care, but pain and discomfort were common (59%). Depression/anxiety, insomnia, and health-related quality of life showed moderate to strong associations.

Discussion: The results suggest a close interplay between anxiety/depression, insomnia, and health-related quality of life in older adults.

Keywords: anxiety; depression; insomnia; mental health; quality of life.