Press Releases

New Coalition to Develop Clinical Sleep Guidelines for Older Adults

NEW YORK (August 14, 2007)— In an effort to ensure the proper care of older adults with sleep disorders, the International Longevity Center-USA (ILC-USA) announced today the formation of a national coalition to develop comprehensive guidelines on how to diagnose and manage sleep disorders in older adults.

The prevalence of sleep-related problems increases with age. While significant progress has been made in understanding sleep-related problems such as insomnia, sleep apnea and restless leg syndrome, they remain under diagnosed and under treated in older adults.

“Sleep disorders are common in older adults and often, inappropriately, seen as a consequence of the aging process itself,” says Dr. Harrison Bloom, senior associate at the ILC-USA and chair of the coalition’s expert taskforce that will develop the clinical practice guidelines.

Mission is to Formulate, Endorse, and Disseminate Clinical Practice Guidelines

The National Coalition for Sleep Disorders in Older People (S-DOP mission is to formulate, endorse and disseminate clinical practice guidelines for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorders in older people. The coalition aims to complete the development of the guidelines by early 2008.

“As is common for geriatric patients, older people with sleep disorders often present with multiple and related health problems,” says Dr. Meir Kryger, Board Chair of the National Sleep Foundation which was a founding member of S-DOP. “Therefore the diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorders in older people poses its own challenges and requires its own algorithm and considerations.”

Thirteen leading aging, geriatric and sleep organizations have joined the effort, representing thousands of physicians, long-term care experts, aging and sleep experts, scientists, medical students and millions of patients.

Coalition members include:

AARP
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
The Sleep Research Society