Skip to main content

All-Cause Mortality Higher With Sleep Deprivation in Seniors With Epilepsy

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on May 19, 2025.

By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, May 19, 2025 -- Older adults with sleep deprivation and epilepsy have an elevated risk for all-cause mortality, according to a study published online April 23 in Healthcare.

Srikanta Banerjee, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H., from the College of Health Sciences at Walden University in Minneapolis, and colleagues examined mortality risk in people with epilepsy based on sleep duration using data from the 2008 to 2018 National Health Interview Survey linked to mortality data from the National Death Index in U.S. adults aged 65 years and older.

The researchers found that the unadjusted hazard ratio for all-cause mortality for sleep deprivation versus no sleep deprivation was 1.92 among people with epilepsy. After adjustment for demographic and health variables, the adjusted hazard ratio was 1.94 for those with epilepsy and sleep deprivation, but close to 1.0 for those with a history of sleep deprivation without epilepsy.

"As practitioners continue to explore the etiology and comorbidities of epilepsy, the consideration of sleep disturbances must play a central role in improving patient quality of life and survival," the authors write. "More screening through the usage of electroencephalograms and sleep studies can improve the prognostic outlook and quality of life."

Abstract/Full Text

Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Read this next

Daytime Napping Behaviors in Middle-Aged, Older Adults Impact Mortality Risk

WEDNESDAY, June 11, 2025 -- Certain objectively measured daytime napping behaviors are associated with an increased risk for mortality for middle- to older-aged adults, according...

Epilepsy More Common With Frontotemporal Dementia

TUESDAY, June 10, 2025 -- Epilepsy is more common among those with frontotemporal dementia (FTD) than among people with Alzheimer disease (AD) or healthy controls, according to a...

Doctors Favor CPAP, Patients Favor Tirzepatide for Comorbid Obesity, Sleep Apnea

MONDAY, June 9, 2025 -- Both continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) and tirzepatide are acceptable treatments for comorbid obesity and obstructive sleep apnea (COBOSA), with...

More news resources

Subscribe to our newsletter

Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.