Showing posts with label suicide. Show all posts
Showing posts with label suicide. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Nightmares & Other Parasomnias

Two studies being presented later this morning as posters focus on parasomnias – undesirable physical events or experiences that occur during entry into sleep, within sleep or during arousals from sleep.

One study (#0600) reports that the prevalence of parasomnia symptoms in patients with obstructive sleep apnea is higher than the prevalence rates of individual parasomnias in the general population. Of 537 adult participants with OSA, 51 (9.5 percent) had at least one type of parasomnia complaint; in the general population, the reported prevalence of common parasomnias is 2 percent to 5 percent. The most commonly reported complaints were sleep paralysis, sleep-related hallucinations and symptoms suggestive of REM sleep behavior disorder.

Another study (#1120) found that self-reported nightmares by adult patients seeking emergency psychiatric evaluation uniquely predicted elevated suicidal symptoms. Results indicate that after controlling for depression, the severity of self-reported disturbing dreams and nightmares independently predicted higher scores for suicide ideation as a non-significant trend; insomnia severity scores were no longer associated with suicide ideation after controlling for depression. The results suggest that nightmares may be an acute warning sign and risk factor for suicide.

You can download the SLEEP 2009 abstract supplement as an 11 MB file in PDF format.

Teen Bedtimes Associated with Suicide, Depression & Grades

Two studies being presented as posters later this morning examine the negative impact of late bedtimes on teens.

One study (#1064) suggests that parental-mandated bedtimes could help protect teens from depression and suicidal thoughts by lengthening sleep duration. Results show that adolescents with parental-mandated bedtimes at midnight or later were 25 percent more likely (adjusted odds ratio 1.25) to suffer from depression and 20 percent more likely (adjusted odds ratio 1.20) to have suicidal ideation compared with adolescents who had parental-mandated bedtimes of 10 p.m. or earlier. Multivariate models show that sleep duration may have acted as a mediator of these associations; thus short sleep may be a risk factor for depression and suicidal ideation.

Another study (#0161) shows that being a “night owl” or “evening type” – preferring to go to bed late at night and wake up later in the day – is associated with lower academic performance in college and a decline in academic performance from college to high school. Results indicate that evening types had significantly lower first year college GPA (2.84) than “morning types” and “intermediate types” (3.18). They also slept on average 41 minutes less on school nights. For all students, “sleep hygiene” was related to academic performance.

You can download the SLEEP 2009 abstract supplement as an 11 MB file in PDF format.

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Sleep and Suicide in Children and Teens

Two studies being presented as oral presentation this morning at SLEEP 2008 address the relationship between sleep and suicidal behavior in children.

A study (ID# 0194) of 450 boys and 348 girls examined how children may be affected when a parent has a history of chronic insomnia. The children in the study had an average age of 14.4 years.

Teens with a parental history of chronic insomnia were much more likely to report having suicidal thoughts than teens without a parental history of insomnia (16.7% vs. 5.3%); they also were more likely to have a suicide plan (9.5% vs. 1.5%) and to have attempted suicide (9.5% vs. 1.7%).

Another study (ID# 0180) involved 303 children and teens with bipolar disorder and unipolar disorder during depressive episodes. The children in the study had an average age of 12.8 years.

Results show that 83.8 percent of the children had sleep disturbances. The presence of sleep complaints showed a significant association with suicidal behavior. Children with bipolar disorder were more likely than children with unipolar disorder to report suicidal behaviors with sleep complaints, classified as suicidal thoughts (58% vs. 35.6%), desire to die (58% vs. 31.5%), suicide plans (55.5% vs. 22.3%), and suicide attempt (40.7% vs. 19.8%).

The SLEEP 2008 abstract book is available online at http://www.journalsleep.org/PDF/AbstractBook2008.pdf.

Monday, June 9, 2008

Oral Presentations Describe Research Linking Sleep to ADHD, Suicidal Symptoms

Research abstracts being presented as oral presentations this afternoon at SLEEP 2008 link sleep problems to attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and suicidal symptoms.

In
a study of 882 ninth-grade students (ID# 0321), teens reported sleeping an average of 7.6 hours per school night. According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, teens need a little more than nine hours of sleep each night.

Getting less sleep on
school nights increased students’ risk of having emotional disturbances and ADHD. Every additional hour of sleep on school nights decreased the risk of emotional disturbance by 25 percent and decreased the risk of ADHD by 34 percent.

In
another study of 322 undergraduates at a large university (ID# 0958), sleep quality and insomnia severity were significantly associated with an increased risk of depression. Severe insomnia also was a significant predictor of an increased severity of suicidal thoughts. After controlling for depression, sleep quality and insomnia severity jointly predicted an increased severity of suicidal thoughts.

The SLEEP 2008 abstract book is available online at http://www.journalsleep.org/PDF/AbstractBook2008.pdf.