Sleep Research Roundup: January 12, 2024

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In this Research Roundup, we explore new studies on sleep disturbances in children and adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic; sleep problems following cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia; and connections between sleep disturbances and risk of cognitive impairment in older adults.

Sleep Problems After CBT for Insomnia
This study aimed to explore subjective remission in patients with insomnia after cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT-I). Although 56.9% of patients reported lingering sleep problems post-CBT-I, those with more severe depressive symptoms before treatment and less improvement in depressive symptoms during treatment were more likely to experience ongoing sleep problems.

The investigators concluded that, “These findings highlight the importance of assessing depressive symptoms in primary care patients with insomnia, as patients with pronounced depressive symptoms may need tailored treatment.”

Reference

Sandlund C, Westman J, Norell-Clarke A. Characteristics of patients with subjective sleep problems after cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia: secondary analyses of a randomized controlled trial. Sleep Sci. 2023;16(4):e417-e424.

Sleep Disturbances and Other Trajectories and Risk of Cognitive Impairment in Older Adults
This cohort study aimed to investigate the impact of various trajectories, including sleep disturbances, depressive symptoms, functional limitations, and multimorbidity, on the subsequent risk of cognitive impairment in older adults. The study found that increasing trajectories of depressive symptoms, instrumental functioning limitations, and high multimorbidity status were associated with an elevated risk of cognitive impairment.

The investigators concluded that, “The results suggest that tracking trajectories of depressive symptoms, instrumental functioning limitations, and multimorbidity status may be a potential and feasible screening method for identifying older adults at risk of cognitive impairment.”

Reference

Du M, Tao L, Liu M, Liu J. Trajectories of health conditions and their associations with the risk of cognitive impairment among older adults: insights from a national prospective cohort study. BMC Med. 2024;22(1):20.

The COVID-19 Pandemic and Sleep Disturbances in Young Patients
This meta-analysis investigated the worldwide prevalence of sleep disturbances in children and adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic, analyzing 57 articles with 206,601 participants. The overall prevalence of sleep disturbances was found to be 34.0%, with parent-reported disturbances being significantly higher than self-reported disturbances.

Factors such as geographic region, age group (children vs adolescents), mean age, quality evaluation score, percentage of men, and time of survey were associated with variations in the prevalence of sleep disturbances during the pandemic.

Reference

Cai H, Chen P, Jin Y, et al. Prevalence of sleep disturbances in children and adolescents during COVID-19 pandemic: a meta-analysis and systematic review of epidemiological surveys. Transl Psychiatry. 2024;14(1):12.

Note: This Research Roundup was prepared with the assistance of ChatGPT.

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