Press Releases

International Longevity Center and Philips Respironics Join in Promoting First-Ever Sleep Recommendations for Older People

NEW YORK (October 19, 2009)—The first-ever evidence-based recommendations aimed at treating sleep disorders in older persons are the centerpiece of a national project at the International Longevity Center-USA in New York City.

The recommendations,The recommendations, published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, are the result of a four year scientific consensus effort by 10 leading sleep experts—and encouraged by a 14 national medical, health care, pharmacological, and lay organizations concerned with sleep disorders.

A National Coalition for Sleep Disorders in Older People was initiated in connection with a national opinion survey conducted by the ILC-USA and Gallup that underscored the importance of sleep to healthy aging, with one in four older adults reporting a serious sleep problem. Philips Respironics, a leading provider in the global sleep and respiratory field, has underwritten an effort to disseminate the new recommendations to health professionals and the public.

“This study shatters the popular misconception that sleep disorders are an expected and normal aspect of aging,” says Dr. Robert N. Butler, president and CEO of the ILC-USA. “Instead, he said, “there is a higher rate of sleep disruption in older adults often resulting from interactions with multiple medications and multiple illnesses including cardiovascular disease, circadian rhythm disorders, cerebrovasular disease, hypertension, depression and others.”

The evidence presented in the article, the recommendations for physicians and their patients, and the national coalition of organizations that have encouraged the dissemination of these findings, add up to an unprecedented effort, said Dr. Butler.

“Now that we have these long-sought recommendations, they need to reach key professionals serving older people as well as the lay public, which is now possible because of an independent educational grant from Philips Respironics,” he said. One of the firm’s goals is to find methods to help problem sleepers and to develop educational programs to help caregivers. “We’re grateful to Philips Respironics for funding that allows us to achieve a better public understanding for our unbiased and collaborative scientific work on sleep and older people.”

“It is critically important that physicians and other health care providers consider the vital role that sleep plays in the overall health of older persons,” says Dr. Harrison Bloom, a noted geriatrician, who directed the sleep and healthy aging project for the ILC-USA and was lead author of the recent article. The peer-reviewed article, a complex integration of several hundred studies on sleep and related issues, led to “the first-ever evidence based recommendations that included a number of sleep disorders that especially affect older persons,” Dr. Bloom said.

The disorders include insomnia, restless legs syndrome, sleep apnea, circadian rhythm disorders, parasomnias, hypersomnias and those associated with long term care settings, such as nursing homes,” Dr. Bloom said.

Although physicians and their assistants are busy and often only have a few minutes with patients, the importance of both doctor and patient focusing on sleep problems and irregularities is essential as this may point to other underlying problems, the article suggested. The article provided recommendations for physicians to include in their initial assessment questions for patients as well as good sleep hygiene tips for patients.

The study noted that while the importance of sleep to older persons is not unknown and has been discussed by experts for years, little has changed in primary care practice when it comes to detecting sleep problems. “We hope this will begin to change as these specific recommendations are disseminated,” Dr. Butler said. “The benefits in better understanding the links between multiple medical problems of older people—and sleep as warning sign will benefit everyone,” he said.

Dr. Bloom reiterated the complexity of the recommendations: “we provide much more than a simple cautionary list,” he said, “the recommendations are organized by type of sleep disorder and connected both with the quality of clinical evidence—and the strength of that evidence.”

Some Recommendations for the Professional Healthcare Community

Example: In the case of managing insomnia, physicians are encouraged to:
--Maximize non-medical approaches to sleep
--Evaluate patient’s current medication regimen and adjust it if necessary
--Make sure medications are taken so that they do not interfere with sleep
--Review comorbidities (multiple conditions) and revise management as needed
--Use sleep medications when needed, but avoid those that are toxic or strongly interfere with cognitive/psychomotor functions, among others.

Among tips for patients were:

--Go to bed and wake up at the same time each day.
--Develop a sleep ritual.
--If you cannot fall asleep in 20 minutes, get up and do something relaxing until you feel sleepy.
--Avoid exercising within 2 hours of bedtime.
--If you must nap during the day, limit it to 30 minutes and try to nap before 3:00pm.
--Use the bedroom only for sleep and sex; do not watch television or work in bed.
--Get regular exercise and exposure to outdoor light.

The coalition that encouraged the project includes: AARP, Alliance for Aging Research, American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry, American Geriatrics Society, AGS Foundation for Healthy Aging, American Medical Directors Association, American Society of Consultant Pharmacists, Association of Directors of Geriatric Academic Programs, Association for Gerontology in Higher Education, Gerontological Society of America, International Longevity Center-USA, National Sleep Foundation, and The Sleep Research Society.

The study and recommendations has been sent all members and they’ve concurrently been encouraged to put the recommendations on their websites.

The article, “Evidence Based Recommendations for the Assessment and Management of Sleep Disorders in Order Persons,” in the Journal of The American Geriatrics Society (2009) is authored by Harrison G. Bloom, MD, AGSF, Imran Ahmed, MD, Cathy A. Alessi, MD, Sonia Ancoli-Israel, PhD, Daniel J. Buysse, MD, Meir H. Kryger, MD, Barbara A. Phillips, MD, MSPH, FCCP, Michael J. Thorpy, MD, Michael V. Vitiello, PhD, and Phyllis C. Zee, MD, PhD.

Dr. Bloom made the first public presentation of the findings at the 19th World Congress of the International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics in Paris in July.

About the International Longevity Center-USA

The International Longevity Center-USA is a research policy organization in New York City and has sister centers in Europe, Asia, Latin America, Africa and Israel. Led by Dr. Robert N. Butler, a world renowned physician specializing in geriatrics, the Center is a non-for-profit, non-partisan organization with a staff of economists, medical and health researchers, demographers and others who study the impact of population aging on society. The ILC-USA focuses on combating ageism, healthy aging, productive engagement and the financing of old age. The ILC-USA is an independent affiliate of Mount Sinai School of Medicine and is incorporated as a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) entity. More information on the ILC-USA can be found at www.ilcusa.org

About Philips Respironics

Respironics is the leading provider of innovative solutions for the global sleep and respiratory markets. The Company’s success spans more than three decades and can be traced to a history deeply rooted in ingenuity and a passion to deliver solutions to those in need. This tradition of innovation, combined with an ability to anticipate market needs, is fundamental to the Company. It has made Respironics a name acknowledged worldwide as a pace-setter in the sleep and respiratory markets. Respironics’ success can be attributed, in part, to its ability to anticipate the needs of the markets it serves, and to provide a range of solutions to address market challenges. Known for expertise in its core areas of sleep and respiratory, the Company is aggressive in its cultivation of promising opportunities such as delivering drugs via the respiratory pathway, seeking methods to assist “problem sleepers” and evolving educational programs to help caregivers in the Neonatal Intensive Care to nurture premature and ill newborns. More information on Philips Respironics can be found at http://global.respironics.com