Sleep and psychological health in older adults after the 2023 Türkiye earthquakes: a comparative study

The objective of this study is to compare sleep quality, anxiety, and depression levels between earthquake-exposed older adults and non-exposed older adults following the February 6, 2023, earthquakes centered in Kahramanmaraş, and to examine associations of age, gender, earthquake exposure, anxiety, and depression with sleep quality. This cross-sectional and comparative study included a total of 100 older adults aged ≥ 65 years (observed age range: 65–75 years): 50 earthquake-exposed older adults from Hatay and 50 non-exposed older adults from Ankara. Sleep quality was assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), anxiety using the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), and depressive symptoms using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Hierarchical multiple linear regression analysis was used to examine the associations of these variables with sleep quality. The total PSQI, BAI, and BDI scores of earthquake-exposed older adults were significantly higher than those of non-exposed older adults ( p = 0.014, p < 0.001, and p < 0.001, respectively). Poor sleep quality was observed in 64.0% of earthquake-exposed older adults compared with 32.0% of non-exposed older adults ( p = 0.001). In the final regression model, anxiety (β = 0.293; p = 0.003) and depression (β = 0.706; p < 0.001) were significantly associated with PSQI scores. Earthquake-exposed older adults in Hatay had poorer sleep quality and higher levels of anxiety and depression than non-exposed older adults in Ankara. Within the study sample, anxiety and depressive symptoms were associated with sleep quality. However, given the cross-sectional design and the geographically distinct comparison groups, the specific contribution of earthquake exposure cannot be distinguished from geographic and contextual differences between Hatay and Ankara. Not applicable.