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Caregiver Sleep Quality and Depression: The Roles of Dementia Caregiving, Support Availability, and Rural–Urban Contexts
Heehyul E. Moon, Sunshine M. Rote, Ann E. Folker, Kathryn Williams Sites. The Gerontologist, 2025-03-23
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Probable dementia caregiving predicted worse sleep quality, which mediated the relationship with higher depressive symptoms. The relationship between interrupted sleep and depression was most pronounced under low levels of support. For urban caregivers, interrupted sleep predicted depression, moderated by social support, while no significant effects were observed among rural caregivers. DISCUSSION AND These findings highlight the critical role of support in mitigating the mental health impacts of sleep disturbance and underscore the importance of both informal and formal support systems in reducing the impact of sleep disturbances on caregiver depressive symptoms. Future research should explore context-specific stressors for rural-residing caregivers, which can inform culturally appropriate support strategies to enhance caregiver well-being in both rural and urban contexts.
Key findings
- Probable dementia caregiving predicted worse sleep quality, which mediated the relationship with higher depressive symptoms.
- The relationship between interrupted sleep and depression was most pronounced under low levels of support.
- For urban caregivers, interrupted sleep predicted depression, moderated by social support, while no significant effects were observed among rural caregivers.
- DISCUSSION AND These findings highlight the critical role of support in mitigating the mental health impacts of sleep disturbance and underscore the importance of both informal and formal support systems in reducing the impact of sleep disturbances on caregiver depressive symptoms.
- Future research should explore context-specific stressors for rural-residing caregivers, which can inform culturally appropriate support strategies to enhance caregiver well-being in both rural and urban contexts.
Why it matters
This study found that probable dementia caregiving predicted worse sleep quality, which mediated higher depressive symptoms, and that the link between interrupted sleep and depression was strongest under low support. No significant effects were observed among rural caregivers, and the study does not test any dementia treatment or cure.
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Study details
- Participants1,422
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 43/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on senior author's track record, so that was left out: it earned 41 of the 96 points we could judge it on, which is 43 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (The Gerontologist) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | The Gerontologist: journal h-index 238 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 4 / 5 | 2025 — within 3 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 3 / 4 | 1,422 participants |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 2 / 7 | Cited 6 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 1 / 5 | 2.0 citations a year over 3 year(s) since 2025 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 6.2× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 0 / 6 | No other study in this library cites it |
| Still being cited | 1 / 4 | Cited 6 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | OpenAlex's profile for last-listed author Kathryn Williams Sites holds only 4 work(s), too few to judge a track record — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | University of Massachusetts Amherst: institution h-index 913 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 2 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 40121523) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 41 / 96 | Scored on 19 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 41 of the 96 points we could judge it on is 43 out of 100. |
| Total | 43 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
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Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Moon, H. E., Rote, S. M., Folker, A. E., & Sites, K. W. (2025). Caregiver Sleep Quality and Depression: The Roles of Dementia Caregiving, Support Availability, and Rural–Urban Contexts. The Gerontologist. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnaf120
Vancouver
Moon HE, Rote SM, Folker AE, Sites KW. Caregiver Sleep Quality and Depression: The Roles of Dementia Caregiving, Support Availability, and Rural–Urban Contexts. The Gerontologist. 2025. doi:10.1093/geront/gnaf120. PMID: 40121523.
BibTeX
@article{moon2025-40121523,
author = {Moon, Heehyul E. and Rote, Sunshine M. and Folker, Ann E. and Sites, Kathryn Williams},
title = {{Caregiver Sleep Quality and Depression: The Roles of Dementia Caregiving, Support Availability, and Rural–Urban Contexts}},
journal = {The Gerontologist},
year = {2025},
doi = {10.1093/geront/gnaf120},
pmid = {40121523},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnaf120}
}
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