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Cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between sleep disturbances and psycho-affective symptoms in older adults: influence of amyloid positivity
André C, Touron E, Garnier-Crussard A, Baril A, Chételat G, Dautricourt S, Marchant NL, Rauchs G.. medRxiv, 2026-01-21
Topic: Brain imaging, connectivity and assessment
Background Psycho-affective symptoms and repetitive negative thinking (RNT) may increase Alzheimer’s disease (AD) risk. As sleep plays a key role in emotional regulation, we investigated both cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between sleep disturbances and psycho-affective health, according to amyloid-beta (Aβ) status. Methods One hundred and thirty-four cognitively unimpaired older adults from the Age-Well interventional study (mean age = 68.8 ± 3.8 years; 82 women; 37 Aβ+ individuals) completed psycho-affective (Geriatric Depression Scale, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory), RNT (Rumination Response Scale–brooding, Penn State Worry Questionnaire) and sleep questionnaires (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Insomnia Severity Index). Wrist actigraphy (n=131; mean recording duration = 7.7 ± 0.5 nights) provided objective measures of sleep fragmentation (sleep fragmentation index, wake time after sleep onset) and their night-to-night variability. Cross-sectional multiple linear regressions and longitudinal linear mixed-effects models (mean follow-up = 3.98 ± 1.15 years) examined associations between sleep and psycho-affective symptoms, adjusting for age, sex, continuous positive airway pressure use, and the non-pharmacological intervention group (for longitudinal analyses). Results In the whole cohort and in Aβ− individuals, higher self-reported sleep difficulties and insomnia symptoms were cross-sectionally associated with greater anxiety, depression and RNT (all p FDR-corr <0.05). In Aβ+ individuals, objective sleep fragmentation and instability were cross-sectionally associated with higher anxiety, depression and RNT. Longitudinally, higher baseline insomnia severity, mean sleep fragmentation, and night-to-night sleep instability predicted brooding worsening in Aβ+ individuals only, while poorer perceived sleep quality predicted depressive symptoms worsening (all p FDR-corr <0.05). Conclusions In cognitively unimpaired older adults, associations between sleep disturbances and psycho-affective symptoms differ according to Aβ status. In Aβ+ individuals specifically, objective sleep fragmentation and instability are linked to psycho-affective vulnerability and brooding worsening over time. Sleep disturbances could thus represent early modifiable targets to mitigate psycho-affective symptomatology in older adults.
Key findings
- Results In the whole cohort and in Aβ− individuals, higher self-reported sleep difficulties and insomnia symptoms were cross-sectionally associated with greater anxiety, depression and RNT (all p FDR-corr <0.05).
- In Aβ+ individuals, objective sleep fragmentation and instability were cross-sectionally associated with higher anxiety, depression and RNT.
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Study details
- Study designcross-sectional
- Participants131
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 16/100
Preprint — not yet peer-reviewed. It scored 39 on the same rubric, but non-peer-reviewed sources are capped at 16, so it shows as 16. Scored zero for effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on times cited, citations per year, impact for its field and year, cited by studies here, still being cited, senior author's track record, institution's track record and multi-centre collaboration, so those were left out: it earned 24 of the 62 points we could judge it on, which is 39 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 2 / 10 | Tier 4 — not a peer-reviewed journal (medRxiv) |
| Journal's citation record | 0 / 4 | Not a journal article, so the journal's record does not count |
| Study design | 4 / 12 | A snapshot of people at one point in time |
| Strength of evidence | 3 / 5 | Rated “moderate” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 4 / 10 | Preprint — not yet peer-reviewed. Hosted on a preprint server. |
| How recent | 5 / 5 | 2026 — within 1 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 2 / 4 | 131 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 | — / 7 | No citation count (not found in OpenAlex) — left out of this score |
| Citations per year | — / 5 | No citation count or no year — left out of this score |
| Impact for its field and year | — / 6 | No field-weighted citation impact (OpenAlex has none yet) — left out of this score |
| Cited by studies here | — / 6 | Not yet checked against this library's citation graph — left out of this score |
| Still being cited | — / 4 | No yearly citation counts — left out of this score |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | — / 3 | No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Multi-centre collaboration | — / 3 | Institutions not listed — left out of this score |
| Indexed in PubMed | 1 / 2 | Not in PubMed, but has a DOI |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 24 / 62 | Scored on 12 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 24 of the 62 points we could judge it on is 39 out of 100. |
| Total | 39 / 100 | Capped to 16 because this is not a peer-reviewed article. |
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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. The record names 8 authors; APA and Vancouver show the first six, BibTeX and the downloads carry all of them. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
André, C., Touron, E., Garnier-Crussard, A., Baril, A., Chételat, G., Dautricourt, S., et al. (2026). Cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between sleep disturbances and psycho-affective symptoms in older adults: influence of amyloid positivity. medRxiv. https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.01.15.26344227
Vancouver
André C, Touron E, Garnier-Crussard A, Baril A, Chételat G, Dautricourt S, et al. Cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between sleep disturbances and psycho-affective symptoms in older adults: influence of amyloid positivity. medRxiv. 2026. doi:10.64898/2026.01.15.26344227.
BibTeX
@article{andre2026-ffe430e6,
author = {André, C. and Touron, E. and Garnier-Crussard, A. and Baril, A. and Chételat, G. and Dautricourt, S. and Marchant, N. L. and Rauchs, G.},
title = {{Cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between sleep disturbances and psycho-affective symptoms in older adults: influence of amyloid positivity}},
journal = {medRxiv},
year = {2026},
doi = {10.64898/2026.01.15.26344227},
url = {https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.01.15.26344227}
}