Sleep breathing and sleep movement disorders masquerading as insomnia in sexual-assault survivors

A descriptive, hypothesis-generating study was performed with 156 female sexual-assault survivors who suffered from insomnia, nightmares, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). They completed 2 self-report sleep questionnaires to assess the potential presence of intrinsic sleep disorders. Seventy...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Comprehensive psychiatry 2000, Vol.41 (1), p.49-56
Main Authors: Krakow, Barry, Germain, Anne, Tandberg, Dan, Koss, Mary, Schrader, Ron, Hollifield, Michael, Cheng, Diana, Edmond, Tonya
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Algorithms
Analysis of Variance
Biological and medical sciences
Diagnosis, Differential
Female
Humans
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Nocturnal Myoclonus Syndrome - diagnosis
Nocturnal Myoclonus Syndrome - etiology
Nocturnal Myoclonus Syndrome - psychology
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Sampling Studies
Sex Offenses - psychology
Sleep Apnea Syndromes - diagnosis
Sleep Apnea Syndromes - etiology
Sleep Apnea Syndromes - psychology
Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders - etiology
Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders - psychology
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - complications
Surveys and Questionnaires
Survivors - statistics & numerical data
Victimology
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Summary:A descriptive, hypothesis-generating study was performed with 156 female sexual-assault survivors who suffered from insomnia, nightmares, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). They completed 2 self-report sleep questionnaires to assess the potential presence of intrinsic sleep disorders. Seventy-seven percent of the sample (120 of 156) endorsed additional sleep complaints, besides their insomnia symptoms, that indicate the potential presence of sleep-disordered breathing ([SDB] 81 of 156, 52%) and sleep-related movement disorders ([SMD] 94 of 156, 60%). The potential for SDB was strongly correlated with the body mass index (BMI), an increase in arousal symptoms, and greater total PTSD severity. In some sexual-assault survivors, the relationship between sleeplessness and posttraumatic stress may be caused or exacerbated by intrinsic sleep disorders, and not be solely a function of psychophysiological insomnia—the traditional diagnostic term usually offered to explain the sleep problems associated with PTSD. Prevalence studies that use objective diagnostic evaluations such as polysomnography (PSG) are needed to test these hypotheses.
ISSN:0010-440X
1532-8384
DOI:10.1016/S0010-440X(00)90131-7