0677 Blunted daily light rhythm amplitude in adults with opioid use disorder (OUD)

Abstract

Abstract Introduction Accumulating evidence implicates sleep and circadian rhythm disruption in substance use disorders, including opioid use disorder (OUD). Blunted amplitude in daily rhythms of circadian-relevant variables (e.g., activity, light) may be a marker of psychopathology, as depressed adults demonstrate a smaller activity amplitude compared with healthy controls. The present study compared the light and activity amplitudes of adults with OUD with healthy controls. Methods Light and activity data were collected from adults with OUD who were recently stabilized on medication-assisted treatment (N=27; Mage=44.25±13.21). Participants wore an Actiwatch for an average of 14.5 (SD=4.14) days. Light and activity data collected from healthy adults (N=15; Mage=22.88±2.76) who wore an Actiwatch an average of 11.59 (SD=1.07) days in a separate study were included as a comparison group. Light and activity amplitudes for each day and a composite amplitude for the sampling period were calculated using non-orthogonal spectral analysis. Results Results of mixed model ANOVA with subject as a random factor and group and day as fixed factors revealed a significant main effect of group on daily light amplitude (p<.01), such that the OUD group exhibited lower daily light amplitudes compared to healthy controls, and a trend-level main effect of group on daily activity amplitude (p=.09), such that the OUD group exhibited lower daily activity amplitudes compared to healthy controls. With age included as a covariate in the model, the main effect of group on light remained significant, whereas the trend-level effect on activity became non-significant. Results of between-subjects t-tests indicated significantly lower composite light and activity amplitudes during the entire sampling period in the OUD group compared to healthy controls (p’s<.05). Conclusion These findings indicate that OUD is characterized by blunted light amplitude, which could both reflect and contribute to disruptions in circadian physiology in OUD. Light amplitude may be a novel target for behavioral OUD interventions. Future research is needed to determine whether blunted light amplitude is associated with OUD treatment outcomes and to further examine activity amplitude in OUD with larger sample sizes. Support (if any) U01 HL150596; T32 HL149646; CTSA Grant UL1 TR002535; Office of Naval Research MURI N00014-15-1-2809