Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2010 May 15;177(1-2):240-5.
doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2009.02.011. Epub 2010 Apr 9.

Poor sleep quality predicts onset of either major depression or subsyndromal depression with irritability during interferon-alpha treatment

Peter L Franzen  1 , Daniel J Buysse, Mordechai Rabinovitz, Bruce G Pollock, Francis E Lotrich
Affiliations

Poor sleep quality predicts onset of either major depression or subsyndromal depression with irritability during interferon-alpha treatment

Peter L Franzen et al. Psychiatry Res. .

Abstract

Major depressive disorder (MDD) often occurs during pegylated IFN-alpha2 (IFN-alpha) treatment. Identifying who is at risk for MDD in this population is essential, and epidemiological studies suggest that sleep may be related to depression risk. Controlling for pre-existing depression symptoms, we therefore examined whether sleep quality prior to IFN-alpha treatment would predict subsequent MDD incidence during IFN-alpha treatment. Adults with hepatitis C but without current clinical MDD (n=86) were evaluated prior to IFN-alpha treatment and then prospectively monitored during treatment using self-report measures of sleep quality (PSQI), depression (BDI), and anger and irritability (AIAQ), as well as with Structured Clinical Interviews for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders (SCID-I). During IFN-alpha treatment, 19% developed MDD, 19% developed subsyndromal depression with irritability, and one developed mania. Controlling for baseline depression symptoms and past history of depression, patients with worse sleep quality (PSQI > or = 10) prior to treatment had a significantly shorter time until they developed MDD or any severe psychiatric problem. These findings may have important implications for understanding, predicting, and possibly preventing depression, particularly in individuals treated with IFN-alpha.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Kaplan-Meier analysis of the proportion of patients with baseline global PSQI ≥ 10 (poor sleep) and < 10 (good sleep) who required intervention for categorical MDD during the first 16 weeks of combination pegylated-IFN-α2 and ribavirin treatment. ‘o’ denotes cases censored for discontinuing or withholding IFN-α treatment for any medical or psychiatric reason other than MDD.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Agargun MY, Kara H, Solmaz M. Subjective sleep quality and suicidality in patients with major depression. Journal of Psychiatric Research. 1997;31:377–381. - PubMed
    1. Asnis GM, De La Garza R., 2nd Interferon-induced depression in chronic hepatitis C: a review of its prevalence, risk factors, biology, and treatment approaches. Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology. 2006;40:322–335. - PubMed
    1. Backhaus J, Junghanns K, Broocks A, Riemann D, Hohagen F. Test-retest reliability and validity of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index in primary insomnia. Journal of Psychosomatic Research. 2002;53:737–740. - PubMed
    1. Beck AT, Steer RA, Brown GK. Beck Depression Inventory. 2. The Psychological Corporation; 1996.
    1. Benca RM. Mood disorders. In: Kryger MH, Roth T, Dement WC, editors. Principles and Practice of Sleep Medicine. W. B. Saunders; Philadelphia, PA: 2000. pp. 1140–1157.

Publication types