We performed a retrospective chart review of PSG sleep studies and psychiatrist evaluations of 106 adolescents aged 7-16 admitted to an involuntary adolescent psychiatric inpatient facility.
Less than 5%of cases had mild/no sleep problems. Hyperarousal hallmarked this population, and severity of sleep disturbances trends with the severity of psychopathology. Inpatients with multiple psychiatric disorders had greater frequencies of insomnia, decreased sleep efficiency, and arousals from SWS (p < 0.05). Inpatient's with self-harm behavior more frequently had elevated sleep onset latency (SOL), reduced efficiency, reduced SWS (p < 0.05), increased REM, and reduced REM latency compared to inpatients with dysthymia and/or depression.
Lacking an a priori hypothesis, this study was explorative and uncontrolled for factors such as medications. This notwithstanding however, analysis indicates the majority of inpatients were taking cocktails that 鈥渟hould鈥?alleviate sleep symptoms suggesting greater associations may prevail in unmedicated populations.
This study attests to the potential clinical utility of PSG sleep studies in the management of adolescent psychiatric disorders and contributes to the body of evidence reputing the intimate connection between sleep problems and the development and perpetuation of psychopathology with public health implications.