Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41813600›Full record

Trial reportAlzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association2026

The DREAMS START intervention for sleep in dementia: Long-term follow-up of a randomized controlled trial.

Penny Rapaport, Mariam O Adeleke, Julie A Barber, Lina Gonzalez, Rachael Hunter, Monica Manela, Sarah Amador, Sube Banerjee, Georgina Charlesworth, Chris Clarke and 5 more

Abstract readRandomized Controlled TrialMulticenter StudyEquivalence Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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

15 authors.

Penny RapaportDivision of Psychiatry, University College London, London, UK.ORCID 0000-0003-0479-6950
Mariam O AdelekeDepartment of Statistical Science, University College London, London, UK.
Julie A BarberDepartment of Statistical Science, University College London, London, UK.
Lina GonzalezResearch Department of Primary Care and Population Health, University College London, London, UK.
Rachael HunterResearch Department of Primary Care and Population Health, University College London, London, UK.
Monica ManelaDivision of Psychiatry, University College London, London, UK.
Sarah AmadorDivision of Psychiatry, University College London, London, UK.
Sube BanerjeeFaculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK.
Georgina CharlesworthDivision of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London, London, UK.
Chris ClarkeTees Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust, York, UK.
Colin A EspieSir Jules Thorn Sleep and Circadian Neuroscience Institute, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
Simon D KyleSir Jules Thorn Sleep and Circadian Neuroscience Institute, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
Malgorzata RaczekCentre for Dementia Studies, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Brighton, UK.
Zuzana WalkerDivision of Psychiatry, University College London, London, UK.
Gill LivingstonDivision of Psychiatry, University College London, London, UK.

Funding

National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Health Technology Assessment Programme NIHR HTA 128761National Institute for Health Research ARC North Thames
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionSleep disturbances are common and distressing for people with dementia and their family caregivers, with limited treatment options. The DREAMS START (Dementia RElAted Manual for Sleep; STrAtegies for RelaTives) multi-component intervention for sleep disturbance in people at home with dementia is clinically and cost-effective at 8 months. In this long-term follow-on study, we assessed 2-year clinical effectiveness.

methodsWe recruited dyads of people with dementia and their family caregivers from community settings, for a two-arm, multi-center, single-blind, parallel-arm, superiority trial with the primary outcome Sleep Disorders Inventory (SDI). Analyses were intention to treat.

resultsWe randomized 377 dyads, 189 to treatment-as-usual (TAU) and 188 to intervention; 177 dyads (46.9%) were followed up at 24 months. Two-year adjusted mean SDI score was lower in the intervention arm than TAU (-5.40; 95% CI -9.14 to -1·67; p = 0·005). DISCUSSION: In this follow-on study we demonstrate 2-year improvement in sleep disruption for people with dementia. DREAMS START has potential for delivery at scale.

Indexed as

DementiaDreamsSleep Wake DisordersAgedAged, 80 and overCaregiversFemaleFollow-Up StudiesHumansMaleMiddle AgedSingle-Blind MethodTreatment Outcomeclinical effectivenessdementianon‐pharmacological interventionrandomized controlled trialsleep

Identifiers

PMID41813600
PMCPMC13093547

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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.