REM Sleep Fragmentation in Patients With Short-Term Insomnia Is Associated With Higher BDI Scores

Abstract

Objective: To observe the changes in sleep characteristics and BDI scores in patients with short-term insomnia disorder (SID) using a longitudinal observational study.Methods: Fifty-four patients who met the criteria for SID of the International Classification of Sleep Disorders, third edition, were recruited. Depression levels were assessed using the Beck depression inventory (BDI) at enrollment and after 3 months of follow-up, respectively. Sleep characteristics were assessed by polysomnography.Results: After 3 months of follow-up, the group was divided into SID with increased BDI score (BDI >15) and SID with normal BDI score (BDI ≤ 15) according to the total BDI score of the second assessment. The differences in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep latency, REM sleep arousal index, and NREM sleep arousal index between the two groups were statistically significant. The total BDI score was positively correlated with REM and NREM sleep arousal index and negatively correlated with REM sleep latency, which were analyzed by Pearson correlation coefficient. Multiple linear regression was used to construct a regression model to predict the risk of depression in which the prediction accuracy reached 83.7%.Conclusion: REM sleep fragmentation is closely associated with future depressive status in patients with SID and is expected to become an index of estimating depression risk.

A Narrative Review on REM Sleep Deprivation: A Promising Non-Pharmaceutical Alternative for Treating Endogenous Depression

“…Then, using linear regression, they generated a regression model that could predict the risk of endogenous depression with 83.7% accuracy. These findings, together with other pioneering work, support the use of REM sleep behavior as a viable endogenous depression predictor marker, indicating that REM-D could also predict the therapeutic outcome [ 119 , 124 ].…”

“…Besides its antidepressant efficacy, REM sleep fragmentation was closely associated with depressive status after a study conducted on 54 depressed patients with short-term insomnia disorder. Wu et al developed a REM sleep fragmentation-based regression model that could predict the risk of endogenous depression with an 83.7% prediction accuracy, thus promoting REM as a viable index for estimating depression risk and a biomarker for treatment response [ 119 ].…”

Dual roles of the amygdala–hippocampus circuit in the regulation of rapid eye movement sleep and depression symptoms by repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in patients with insomnia

“… 1 2 A study found that fragmented rapid eye movement (REM) sleep in individuals with insomnia is associated with higher Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) scores. 3 REM sleep architecture disruption is a typical symptom of insomnia. 4 Sleep homeostasis and plasticity interact with each other and jointly regulate sleep patterns and sleep quality.…”