0905 Reduced Sleep Duration Moderates Alcohol Use in Risky Situations in a Treatment Seeking Sample

Abstract

Increased alcohol consumption has been linked to insufficient sleep duration and insomnia in subjects with/without alcohol use disorder (AUD). However, little information exists on the underlying reasons for alcohol consumption in those with insufficient sleep duration and insomnia symptoms in those with AUD. The primary aim of this investigation was to evaluate the association between alcohol consumption situations and habitual sleep duration in patients with alcohol use disorder. We analyzed baseline cross-sectional data from a treatment study of AUD patients (N=182). The Inventory of Drug-Taking Situations (IDTS) was used to assess reasons for alcohol consumption over the past year. Habitual sleep duration over the last 4 weeks was assessed using questions 4 from the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Alcohol consumption was assessed using the Time Line Follow Back interview. Linear regression analyses were used to assess the relationships between the IDTS reasons and sleep-related variables. Significant associations were further assessed in multivariable models adjusted for alcohol consumption, age, race and gender. The mean age was 42.2 years (SD=11.2), 67.3% were male and 93.7% were Caucasian. The mean habitual sleep duration was 5.9 hours (SD=1.5) with 39.9% reporting short sleep duration (<6 hours/night). About 34.4% (N=64) subjects reported difficulty falling asleep within 30 minutes in the 4 weeks. They drank on 49% (SD=27) of the days at baseline and nearly all of these drinking days were heavy drinking days [mean of 45(SD=27.5)]. Bivariate analyses demonstrated significant associations between IDTS reason-2 (physical discomfort) (β=-3.3; p=0.004) as well as IDTS reason-4 (difficulty with personal control) and sleep duration (β=-3.4; p=0.01). In multivariable models adjusted for covariates, sleep duration remained a significant predictor for IDTS item 2 (β= -2.4, t=-2.0; p=0.04) and item 4 (β=-3.1; p=0.04). A significant proportion of treatment seeking patients with AUD report short sleep duration and difficulty initiating sleep. Insufficient sleep duration appears to moderate alcohol use in situations of loss of control and discomfort and may be a risk factor for maintaining alcohol consumption. None