Evidence map›Paper›PMID 26273229›Full record

ArticleLighting research & technology (London, England : 2001)2015

Effect of home-based light treatment on persons with dementia and their caregivers.

P D Sloane, M Figueiro, S Garg, L W Cohen, D Reed, C S Williams, J Preisser, S Zimmerman

Open access · greenAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Lighting research & technology (London, England : 2001), 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 31 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
31citing papers in PubMed, 7 pooled it
1.2field-weighted citation impact, top 25% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

31 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 61 citations in OpenAlex.

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  12. Timing the decline: Cellular circadian rhythms and Alzheimer's disease.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

P D SloaneCecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA ; Department of Family Medicine, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
M FigueiroLighting Research Center, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, USA.
S GargDepartment of Ophthalmology, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
L W CohenCecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
D ReedCecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
C S WilliamsCecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
J PreisserDepartment of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
S ZimmermanCecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA ; School of Social Work, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill · USRensselaer Polytechnic Institute · US

Funding

Methodology Issues in a Tailored Light Treatment for Persons with DementiaR01AG034157 · NIA · RENSSELAER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE · PI FIGUEIRO, MARIANA GROSS · 2010 to 2024
$7.9M
Blue-White Light Therapy for Circadian Sleep Disorders in Alzheimer's DiseaseR21AT004500 · NCCIH · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · PI SLOANE, PHILIP D · 2008 to 2009
$586k
NCCIH NIH HHS R21 AT004500NIA NIH HHS R01 AG034157
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Sleep disorders are problematic for persons with dementia and their family caregivers. This randomized controlled trial with crossover evaluated the effects of an innovative blue-white light therapy on 17 pairs of home-dwelling persons with dementia and their caregivers. Subjects with dementia received blue-white light and control ('red-yellow' light) for six weeks separated by a four-week washout. Neither actigraphic nor most self-reported sleep measures significantly differed for subjects with dementia. For caregivers, both sleep and role strain improved. No evidence of retinal light toxicity was observed. Six weeks of modest doses of blue-white light appear to improve sleep in caregivers but not in persons with dementia. Greater or prolonged circadian stimulation may be needed to determine if light is an effective treatment for persons with dementia.

Identifiers

PMID26273229
PMCPMC4530796
OpenAlexW2118481980

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.