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Validation of the Insomnia in the Elderly Scale for the detection of insomnia in older adults
Author(s) -
Navarro Beatriz,
LópezTorres Jesús,
Andrés Fernando,
Latorre José Miguel,
Montes María Jesús,
Párraga Ignacio
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
geriatrics and gerontology international
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.823
H-Index - 57
eISSN - 1447-0594
pISSN - 1444-1586
DOI - 10.1111/j.1447-0594.2012.00958.x
Subject(s) - insomnia , receiver operating characteristic , medicine , gold standard (test) , observational study , population , sleep disorder , psychiatry , environmental health
Aim The main objective of this study was the validation of a brief support instrument for the diagnosis of insomnia in older adults. Methods An observational study was carried out for the evaluation of the I nsomnia in the E lderly S cale using the psychiatric interview as the gold standard. Data was collected in a primary care setting in the city of A lbacete, S pain. Participants were 926 non‐institutionalized older adults aged ≥65 years. Results Sleep characteristics, and the health and sociodemographic status of the participants were assessed. The I nsomnia in the E lderly S cale is divided into two subscales for the evaluation of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fouth Edition criteria A and B for insomnia. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for subscale A was 0.868. The cut‐off point to detect the presence of diagnostic criterion A for insomnia was a score of ≥3 (sensitivity: 86.4%; specificity: 69.5%). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for subscale B was 0.832. The cut‐off point to detect the presence of diagnostic criterion B was a score of ≥2 (sensitivity: 86.3%; specificity: 66.4%). Conclusions The I nsomnia in the E lderly S cale has appropriate psychometric properties. This scale compensates for the lack of validated instruments for use in the population aged 65 years or older. The fact that it is divided into two subscales to separately evaluate the insomnia criteria enables us to detect the presence of each of them. Finally, it has been validated in participants aged 65 years and older, which is the target population for this scale. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2013; 13: 646–653.