Association between circadian rhythm, sleep disturbances and temperament in major depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia

Abstract

IntroductionCircadian rhythms and quality of sleep have been associated with temperament characteristics in healthy populations. Since temperaments are personality traits concerning the behavioral, motivational and emotional responses, adaptive capacity for sleep and circadian rhythm may also be related with temperament traits.AimsTo identify the determinants of sleep quality (SQ) and biological rhythm (BR) in bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and depression among temperament measures.MethodsPatients with bipolar disorder (BD, n = 49), major depression (MD, n = 35), schizophrenia (SZ, n = 30) and a healthy control group (HC, n = 36) were enrolled. Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Biological Rhythms Interview of Assessment in Neuropsychiatry (BRIAN) and the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) were the measures. One-way ANOVA, Spearman Correlation Test and Linear Regression analyses were the other comparisons.ResultsDeterminants of sleep quality were self-directedness in MD [F(1,26) = 6.10, P = 0.020] and BD [F(1,31) = 10.88, P = 0.002] groups. Self-transcendence (P = 0.004), self-directedness (P = 0.038) and persistence (P = 0.05) were the determinants of sleep quality in schizophrenia group [F(3,21) = 9.71, P < 0.001]. Harm-avoidance was the determinant of sleep quality in the HC group [F(1,28) = 7.97, P < 0.001]. Determinants of biological rhythms were harm-avoidance in the BD group [F(1,32) = 9.65, P = 0.004] and self-directedness in the SZ group [F(1,23) = 11.09, P = 0.003] and harm-avoidance (P < 0.001) and self-transcendence (P = 0.039) in the HC group [F(2,27) = 15.81, P < 0.001].ConclusionsSelf-Directedness was associated with circadian rhythm and sleep quality in MD, BD and SZ groups. Extreme temperament features may contribute to emotional and behavioral dysfunction, which may lead to abnormal sleep patterns in psychiatric disorders.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.