Persistent Insomnia Symptoms Research Articles

Insomnia is more likely to persist than remit after a time of stress and uncertainty: a longitudinal cohort study examining trajectories and predictors of insomnia symptoms.

The study aimed to characterize insomnia symptom trajectories over 12 months during a time of stress and uncertainty, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. It also aimed to investigate sleep and psychological predictors of persistent insomnia symptoms. This longitudinal cohort study comprised 2069 participants with and without insomnia symptoms during the first year of the pandemic. Participants completed online surveys investigating sleep, insomnia, and mental health at four timepoints over 12 months (April 2020-May 2021). Additional trait-level cognitive/psychological questionnaires were administered at 3 months only. Six distinct classes of insomnia symptoms emerged: (1) severe persistent insomnia symptoms (21.65%), (2) moderate persistent insomnia symptoms (32.62%), (3) persistent good sleep (32.82%), (4) severe insomnia symptoms at baseline but remitting over time (2.27%), (5) moderate insomnia symptoms at baseline but remitting over time (7.78%), and (6) good sleep at baseline but deteriorating into insomnia symptoms over time (2.85%). Persistent insomnia trajectories were predicted by high levels of sleep reactivity, sleep effort, pre-sleep cognitive arousal, and depressive symptoms at baseline. A combination of high sleep reactivity and sleep effort reduced the odds of insomnia remitting. Higher sleep reactivity also predicted the deterioration of good sleep into insomnia symptoms over 12 months. Lastly, intolerance of uncertainty emerged as the only trait-level cognitive/psychological predictor of insomnia trajectory classes. Insomnia was more likely to persist than remit over the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Addressing sleep reactivity and sleep effort appears critical for reducing insomnia persistence rates after times of stress and uncertainty.

Predicting the Persistence of Insomnia Symptoms during the COVID-19 Pandemic

ABSTRACT Objective The goal of this study is to evaluate the factors associated with vulnerability and course of insomnia longitudinally in the COVID-19 pandemic and examine differences between: (a) those who never demonstrated clinical insomnia symptoms, (b) those who demonstrated clinically elevated insomnia symptoms at 1 or 2 time points, and (c) those who demonstrated clinically elevated insomnia symptoms at all 3 time points. Methods Participants (≥18 years old) completed measures of insomnia (ISI), depression (PHQ-8), anxiety (GAD-7), and pre-sleep arousal (PSAS) at 3 time points (baseline, 1 month, and 3 months). Data were analyzed using univariable odds ratios and multivariable multicategory logistic regression to determine demographic, psychological, and behavioral predictors of insomnia persistence. Results A total of 129 participants completed all 3 assessments (70 female, age M = 44 years, SD = 16). We found that 40% (N = 51) never had insomnia symptoms, 33% (N = 42) reported transient insomnia symptoms (1 or 2 time points), and 28% (N = 36) reported persistent insomnia symptoms (all 3 time points). From the multivariable multicategory logistic analyses, pre-sleep arousal, gender, and income were significant predictors of insomnia persistence. Conclusions Findings indicate elevated insomnia symptoms were persistent in a substantial number of individuals throughout the pandemic. Results suggest additional insomnia and psychological interventions are needed to improve sleep and mental health.

0413 Neuroticism interacts with stressful experiences during deployment to predict post-deployment insomnia

Abstract Introduction Negative affect traits, such as neuroticism, have been shown to be associated with greater risk for insomnia. These trait-based factors are theorized to increase stress reactivity, which can be a predisposing factor to insomnia. Military personnel represent a unique population that are subject to stressors as a nature of their occupations and may therefore be particularly vulnerable to the onset and persistence of insomnia. The present study examined prospective associations among trait-based emotional reactivity and neuroticism, exposure to stressful experiences during a combat deployment, and insomnia symptoms at 9-months post-deployment. Methods Data were obtained from the Army Study to Assess Risk and Resilience in Servicemembers Pre-Post Deployment Survey (PPDS). Soldiers included in these analyses (n = 1448) completed surveys prior to deployment to Afghanistan, immediately after deployment, and 9-month post-deployment. The survey included measures of insomnia symptoms, deployment-related stressors and trait-based personality measures. Logistic regression was used to examine the relationships among emotional reactivity, neuroticism and deployment stress with post-deployment insomnia. Results Higher trait-based neuroticism and greater exposure to deployment-related stressors were independently associated with greater risk of probable insomnia at 9-months post-deployment, but not trait-based emotional reactivity . However, there were significant interaction effects, such that among those with greater range of stressful events, neuroticism was associated with higher risk of post-deployment insomnia, while emotional reactivity was associated with lower risk. Conclusion A trait disposition for negative affect (i.e., neuroticism) may predispose individuals to chronic insomnia in the face of acute stressors . While neuroticism includes negative emotional reactivity, it also encompasses other characteristics (e.g., negative self-perception) that may be a stronger predictor of persistent insomnia symptoms. Service members with higher baseline neuroticism may benefit from pre-deployment skills trainings to better cope in the face of stressors and prevent/mitigate long-term problems. Support (if any) This study is based on public use data from Army STARRS (Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research, University of Michigan-http://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR35197-v1), funded by U.S. NIMH-U01MH087981.

0488 Trajectories of Insomnia Symptoms since Childhood Associated with Treatment of Internalizing Disorders in Adulthood

Abstract Introduction Internalizing disorders (ID) are the most common form of psychopathology, with a large proportion of individuals seeking treatment in young adulthood. Childhood insomnia symptoms, i.e., difficulties initiating or maintaining sleep (DIMS), have been shown to be associated with ID, however, little is known about the developmental trajectories of insomnia symptoms and their associated risk of receiving pharmacotherapy for ID. The present study examined the longitudinal association between trajectories of childhood insomnia symptoms and risk of receiving treatment for ID in young adulthood. Methods We analyzed data from the Penn State Child Cohort, a population-based sample of 505 children (Mdn=9y), who were followed-up 8 years later as adolescents (Mdn=16y) and 15 years later as young adults (Mdn=24y). Insomnia symptoms were defined as parent-reported (childhood) or self-reported (adolescence and young adulthood) moderate-to-severe DIMS. The trajectories of insomnia symptoms across the three time-points were identified as never, remitted, waxing-and-waning, incident and persistent. The presence of ID was defined as a self-report of a diagnosis of mood and/or anxiety disorders, whether they had received treatment or not and whether treatment consisted of prescription psychotropic medication (i.e., antidepressants, anxiolytics). Logistic regression models were adjusted for sex, race/ethnicity, age, and any childhood or adolescent history of a psychiatric diagnosis or psychotropic medication use. Results Persistent (OR=3.0) and incident (OR=3.3) trajectories, but not waxing-and-waning (OR=1.1) or remitted (OR=0.8) trajectories, were associated with increased odds of ID that did not receive treatment in adulthood. Additionally, the odds of receiving treatment for ID with prescription psychotropic medication in adulthood were increased in those with persistent (OR=3.4), incident (OR=3.5) and waxing-and-waning (OR=2.1) trajectories, but not in those with a remitted trajectory (OR=0.7). Conclusion Childhood-onset persistent insomnia symptoms as well as adult-onset incident insomnia symptoms are strong risk factors for receiving treatment for mood/anxiety disorders in adulthood, while childhood insomnia symptoms that fully remit over time are not. Treatment of insomnia in youth should be an essential target as to decrease the risk of developing severe forms of mood/anxiety disorders requiring psychotropic treatment in adulthood. Support (If Any) National Institutes of Health (R01HL136587, R01MH118308, UL1TR000127)

323 Is daytime napping a risk factor for persistent insomnia symptoms?

Abstract Introduction Napping, episodes of short daytime sleep separated from the main sleep period, can compensate for the detrimental effects of inadequate night-time sleep or, as ‘siestas’, may form an integral part of personal sleep-wake schedules. Napping may also precipitate or perpetuate insomnia symptoms through the erosion of homeostatic sleep pressure at night. Using longitudinal data, these analyses were designed to evaluate links between daytime napping styles and the incidence of persistent insomnia symptoms, in a sample of middle aged and older adult good sleepers at baseline. Methods 567 participants (65% female; >35 years old) were sub-sampled from the NITES cohort (Perlis et al, 2019). All were self-rated good sleepers, reporting typical sleep latencies (5 nights/week) and WASO durations of = 1 nap/baseline period) or habitual (>= 2 naps/week). ‘Persistent insomnia symptoms’ cases reported sleep initiation and/or maintenance complaints on >= 3 nights/week for at least two consecutive weeks. Relationships between nap categories and the incidence of persistent insomnia symptoms arising in months 4–12 of the study were assessed in logistic regression models adjusted for age, gender, employment status and depression. Risk is expressed as the odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI). Results Prevalence rates for ever/habitual napping were 57% and 10%. Unemployed status and aged 50+ significantly increased habitual nap probability. The 1-year incidence of persistent insomnia symptoms was 5.6%. In logistic regression models, ‘ever’ napping was associated with an almost 3-fold increase in the risk of developing persistent insomnia symptoms (OR=2.994; 95% CI 1.244–6.969; p=.014). When the logistic regression model was rerun with habitual napping, the risk attenuated substantially (OR = 1.4, 95% CI .592–3.163; p=.463). Conclusion These results suggest that napping patterns serve as a marker for insomnia symptom development, with haphazard non-habitual napping patterns associated with significantly greater risk. Support (if any) RP: Loughborough University doctoral studentship; MP: K24AG055602 & R01AG041783 (NITES).

Insomnia and Fatigue Symptom Trajectories in Breast Cancer: A Longitudinal Cohort Study

ABSTRACT Objective: Insomnia and fatigue are common, although not inevitable, during breast cancer. This study is one of the first aiming to describe distinct trajectory classes of insomnia and fatigue symptoms, and their correlates, from diagnosis through treatment. Methods: This longitudinal cohort study was conducted at a comprehensive cancer center and community oncology practices. Participants (N = 460) were women diagnosed with any stage of breast cancer in the previous 4 months. Primary outcomes for this ancillary study of the existing cohort were self-reported insomnia and fatigue symptoms assessed repeatedly across 12 months. Results: Four distinct classes of insomnia symptoms emerged: persistently very high, clinically elevated symptoms (13.7%); high, clinically elevated symptoms (65.9%); stable low (17.2%) or very low (2.6%) symptoms. Five fatigue symptom classes included high, increasing fatigue (9.6%), two recovery classes starting at high (26.3%), or moderate (18.0%) severity at diagnosis, stable low (33.3%) or very low (12.2%) classes. In multivariate analyses, higher depressive symptoms, anxiety, and chronic life stress were associated with being in the very high insomnia class versus the low symptom class. Oncologic factors were not associated with insomnia class membership. Receiving chemotherapy was linked significantly to high and recovery fatigue symptom classes versus the low class. Higher chronic life stress was associated with more persistent fatigue symptoms. Conclusions: Distinct classes of insomnia and fatigue symptoms were evident; 79.6% of the women had clinically elevated, persistent insomnia symptoms, 53.9% had elevated fatigue. A substantial minority evidenced low symptoms, suggesting targeted or stepped-care approaches to symptom management.

0831 Hot Flashes and Insomnia Throughout the Life Span of Women from the Episono Cohort

Abstract Introduction Hormonal changes may trigger sleep disturbances in women. Insomnia affects one in every three-to-four of them, most likely during pre to post menopause, and especially in association with hot flashes. Thus, the present study aimed to investigate the occurrence of hot flashes among women with and without insomnia and on different reproductive stages. Methods Sampling procedure was a three-stage clustering of the population of Sao Paulo, Brazil according to gender, age (20-80 years), and socio-economic status. A total of 574 women were interviewed, underwent polysomnographic recording (PSG), and had fasting-blood samples collected. Hormone levels and a gynecological questionnaire were used to classify reproductive stages. Premenopausal women were classified either in the follicular, luteal, or periovulatory stage or as anovulatory or under hormonal contraceptives; whereas those menopausal were classified in perimenopause or in early or late stages. Individuals reporting frequent and persistent insomnia symptoms accompanied by relevant daytime impairment were classified with insomnia syndrome. Objective insomnia was defined by increased sleep onset latency and/or awake after sleep onset, decreasing sleep duration. Results The final sample included 550 women, representing 53% of the EPISONO cohort (n=1,042). Hot flashes were reported by 9% of the premenopausal women (n=339) and by 42% of the menopausal. Complaints were more frequent among women in perimenopause (67%) and those in use of hormonal therapy (60%), and it tended to decrease in later stages (33%); whereas before menopause, hot flashes were especially reported by anovulatory women (26%), while significantly less by those using contraceptives (6%). Hot flashes were associated with a 2-fold increase in insomnia symptoms and while it predicted objective sleep alterations among premenopausal women, they did not after menopause, when alterations in sleep were better explained by an effect of aging. Conclusion Our current findings suggest that hot flashes are associated with irregular menstrual cycles among premenopausal women, and particularly with early stages of menopause, predicting both subjective and objective sleep alterations. Support This research was supported by fellowships from Associação Fundo de Incentivo à Pesquisa (AFIP) and Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) - Finance Code 001.

The association between baseline insomnia symptoms and future suicide attempts within an intensive outpatient treatment program for suicide

This study examines the prospective relationship between insomnia symptoms and suicide attempts in high-risk youth. We obtained depressive symptoms, insomnia symptoms, and suicide ideation measures from clinical records of 206 adolescents ages 12–17 at entry and discharge from a suicide prevention intensive outpatient program. Information about whether the participant made a suicide attempt was available through six months after discharge. Patients were mainly girls (79.1%; n = 163) with depression (89.8%; n = 185). Associations between insomnia symptoms, attempts within 6 months of discharge, persistent insomnia symptoms, and suicide ideation at discharge were tested with multiple regression analyses. Entry insomnia symptoms were prospectively associated with attempts when controlling for age, sex, and previous attempts, but insomnia symptoms at discharge were not. Suicide ideation at discharge was associated both with entry insomnia symptoms and attempts within 6 months of discharge. When entry and discharge suicide ideation were controlled, the association between entry insomnia symptoms and attempts lost significance. However, the association between discharge ideation and attempts remained significant. Insomnia symptoms contribute indirectly to suicide attempt risk after discharge. Intensive treatment for ideation and reducing insomnia symptoms could reduce discharge suicide risk and subsequent suicide attempts.

Headaches and sleep problems in US adolescents: Findings from the National Comorbidity Survey - Adolescent Supplement (NCS-A).

There is limited research on the association of sleep problems with International Classification of Headache Disorders (ICHD-II)-defined headache subtypes in youth, particularly from community-based samples. This cross-sectional study examines the associations of sleep patterns, symptoms and disorders with specific headache subtypes among adolescents from the general population of the United States. The sample includes 10,123 adolescents in the National Comorbidity Survey - Adolescent Supplement, a face-to-face survey of adolescents aged 13-18 years in the continental USA. Headache subtype diagnoses were based on modified ICHD-III criteria, and mood and anxiety disorders were based on Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders criteria. The associations of self-reported sleep patterns and insomnia symptoms and headache status were estimated with multivariate regression models that adjust for demographic characteristics and comorbid anxiety and mood disorders. There was no significant difference in bedtime between youth with and without headache. However, adolescents with migraine headache reported significantly shorter sleep duration (p = .022) and earlier wakeup time (p = .002) than those without headache. Youth with any headache, particularly migraine, had significantly more sleep disturbances than those without headache. With respect to headache subtypes, youth with migraine with aura were more likely to report difficulty maintaining sleep, early morning awakening, daytime fatigue, and persistent insomnia symptoms than those with migraine without aura. However, these associations were largely accounted for by comorbid anxiety and mood disorders. There was a monotonic increase in the number of insomnia symptoms with increasingly restrictive definitions of migraine. Pervasive sleep disturbances in adolescents with headache have important implications for the evaluation, treatment and etiology of pediatric headache.

Change in organizational justice as a predictor of insomnia symptoms: longitudinal study analysing observational data as a non-randomized pseudo-trial.

BackgroundDespite injustice at the workplace being a potential source of sleep problems, longitudinal evidence remains scarce. We examined whether changes in perceived organizational justice predicted changes in insomnia symptoms.MethodsData on 24 287 Finnish public sector employees (82% women), from three consecutive survey waves between 2000 and 2012, were treated as ‘pseudo-trials’. Thus, the analysis of unfavourable changes in organizational justice included participants without insomnia symptoms in Waves 1 and 2, with high organizational justice in Wave 1 and high or low justice in Wave 2 (N = 6307). In the analyses of favourable changes in justice, participants had insomnia symptoms in Waves 1 and 2, low justice in Wave 1 and high or low justice in Wave 2 (N = 2903). In both analyses, the outcome was insomnia symptoms in Wave 3. We used generalized estimating equation models to analyse the data.ResultsAfter adjusting for social and health-related covariates in Wave 1, unfavourable changes in relational organizational justice (i.e. fairness of managerial behaviours) were associated with increased odds of developing insomnia symptoms [odds ratio = 1.15; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.02-1.30]. A favourable change in relational organizational justice was associated with lower odds of persistent insomnia symptoms (odds ratio = 0.83; 95% CI 0.71-0.96). Changes in procedural justice (i.e. the fairness of decision-making procedures) were not associated with insomnia symptoms.ConclusionsThese data suggest that changes in perceived relational justice may affect employees’ sleep quality. Decreases in the fairness of managerial behaviours were linked to increases in insomnia symptoms, whereas rises in fairness were associated with reduced insomnia symptoms.

Self-reported short sleep duration and insomnia symptoms as predictors of post-pregnancy weight change: Results from a cohort study.

This study aims to investigate whether change in sleep duration and insomnia symptoms in the postpartum period is related to change in body mass index from before to 2 years after pregnancy. This study is based on self-report data from a Norwegian cohort, the AHUS Birth Cohort Study. Data were collected at 8 weeks (T1) and 2 years (T2) postpartum. Data from 812 women were analyzed. The results showed that only women with symptoms of insomnia at both T1 and T2 (persistent symptoms) had a greater increase in body mass index compared to women with no insomnia symptoms at T1 or T2.The results indicate that persistent insomnia symptoms are related to a greater increase in body mass index.

Cortical Thinning and Altered Cortico-Cortical Structural Covariance of the Default Mode Network in Patients with Persistent Insomnia Symptoms.

Recent studies have suggested that structural abnormalities in insomnia may be linked with alterations in the default-mode network (DMN). This study compared cortical thickness and structural connectivity linked to the DMN in patients with persistent insomnia (PI) and good sleepers (GS). The current study used a clinical subsample from the longitudinal community-based Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study (KoGES). Cortical thickness and structural connectivity linked to the DMN in patients with persistent insomnia symptoms (PIS; n = 57) were compared to good sleepers (GS; n = 40). All participants underwent MRI acquisition. Based on literature review, we selected cortical regions corresponding to the DMN. A seed-based structural covariance analysis measured cortical thickness correlation between each seed region of the DMN and other cortical areas. Association of cortical thickness and covariance with sleep quality and neuropsychological assessments were further assessed. Compared to GS, cortical thinning was found in PIS in the anterior cingulate cortex, precentral cortex, and lateral prefrontal cortex. Decreased structural connectivity between anterior and posterior regions of the DMN was observed in the PIS group. Decreased structural covariance within the DMN was associated with higher PSQI scores. Cortical thinning in the lateral frontal lobe was related to poor performance in executive function in PIS. Disrupted structural covariance network in PIS might reflect malfunctioning of antero-posterior disconnection of the DMN during the wake to sleep transition that is commonly found during normal sleep. The observed structural network alteration may further implicate commonly observed sustained sleep difficulties and cognitive impairment in insomnia.

Role of sleep disturbances in occupational accidents among women.

This population-based cohort study was performed to assess the association between sleep disturbances and the risk of occupational accidents among women. Data were collected by questionnaires on two different occasions (2000 and 2010) and data on work injuries were also collected from Swedish government records (ISA). Insomnia symptoms were defined as having severe or very severe problems with (i) difficulty initiating sleep, (ii) difficulty maintaining sleep, or (iii) early morning awakening. Symptom of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) was defined as reporting both snoring and daytime sleepiness. Working-age respondents (20-67 years of age) who responded to both baseline and follow-up questionnaires and had worked for part or all of the 10-year follow-up period (N=4320) were included in the study. Of the subjects responding to the questionnaire, 12.2% reported ≥1 accident and 6.3% reported an accident requiring sick leave in the government register. Blue-collar workers and night and shift work were more common in the group with occupational accidents. Subjects with insomnia symptoms both at baseline and follow-up (persistent insomnia symptoms) ran a higher risk of being involved in an self-reported occupational accident [adjusted OR (OR adj) 1.5, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.2-2.0] after adjusting for age, body mass index, smoking, alcohol dependency, white- or blue-collar worker, years at work, night work, and physical activity. Persistent insomnia symptoms did not reach statistical significance as an independent predictor of register-reported occupational accident with sick leave (OR adj1.4, 95% CI 0.99-2.1). No significant association was found between symptoms of OSAS and self-reported or register-based occupational accidents. Persistent insomnia symptoms were associated with an increased risk of self-reported occupational accidents, while no significant association was found with occupational accidents with sick leave reported to government register.

Who is at risk for having persistent insomnia symptoms? A longitudinal study in the general population in Korea

ObjectivesOur study had three goals: (1) to investigate the longitudinal course of insomnia symptoms over 4years (3 time points) by analyzing the trajectory of insomnia symptoms for all participants, (2) to compare persistent insomnia symptom to nonpersistent insomnia symptom groups on mental health and quality of life (QoL), and (3) to conduct exploratory analyses on the relative contribution of multiple factors to persistence of insomnia symptoms. MethodsOur population-based longitudinal study utilized a community-based sample from the Korean Genome and Epidemiology study (KoGES). Participants were 1247 individuals (40.1% men; mean age, 54.3±7.1years). Insomnia, QoL (measured by 12-item Short-Form health survey [SF-12]), sleep-interfering behaviors, and depression (measured by the Beck Depression Inventory [BDI]) were followed with biennial examinations at 3 data points spaced 2years apart (baseline, time 1, and time 2). ResultsAmong individuals experiencing insomnia symptoms at baseline, the most common trajectory was to experience persistent nocturnal insomnia symptoms across all 3 time points. Those with persistent insomnia symptoms had significantly lower physical and mental QoL (measured by SF-12) and higher depression (measured by BDI) at time points compared to those without persistent nocturnal insomnia symptoms. A follow-up exploratory receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis identified poor sleep quality, frequent sleep-interfering behaviors, and low mental health QoL as the strongest predictors of persistent insomnia symptoms above other well-known risk factors. ConclusionsIn particular, an interaction between poor sleep quality, sleep-interfering behaviors, and mental health QoL appeared to be the strongest risk factor for persistent insomnia symptoms.