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. 2017 Jul 28;17(1):273.
doi: 10.1186/s12888-017-1438-4.

Similar polysomnographic pattern in primary insomnia and major depression with objective insomnia: a sign of common pathophysiology?

Matthieu Hein  1   2   3 , Jean-Pol Lanquart  4   5 , Gwénolé Loas  4   5 , Philippe Hubain  4   5 , Paul Linkowski  4   5
Affiliations

Similar polysomnographic pattern in primary insomnia and major depression with objective insomnia: a sign of common pathophysiology?

Matthieu Hein et al. BMC Psychiatry. .

Abstract

Background: Our aim is to verify empirically the existence of a major depressed subgroup with a similar polysomnographic pattern as primary insomnia, including at rapid eye movement sleep level.

Methods: The polysomnographic data from 209 untreated individuals (30 normative, 84 primary insomnia sufferers, and 95 major depressed patients with objective insomnia) who were recruited retrospectively from the Erasme hospital database were studied for the whole night and thirds of the night.

Results: Primary insomnia sufferers and major depressed patients with objective insomnia exhibit a similar polysomnographic pattern both for the whole night (excess of wake after sleep onset, deficit in slow-wave sleep/rapid eye movement sleep, and non-shortened rapid eye movement latency) and thirds of the night (excess of wake after sleep onset at first and last third, deficit in slow-wave sleep in first third, and deficit in rapid eye movement sleep in first and last third), including at rapid eye movement sleep level.

Conclusion: In our study, we demonstrated that major depressed patients with objective insomnia showed a similar polysomnographic pattern as primary insomnia, including at rapid eye movement sleep level, which supports the hypothesis of a common pathophysiology that could be hyperarousal. This opens new avenues for understanding the pathophysiology of major depression with objective insomnia.

Keywords: Major depression; Pathophysiology; Polysomnography; Primary insomnia; Secondary insomnia.

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Conflict of interest statement

Ethics approval and consent to participate

This research protocol was approved by the Hospital and Medical School Ethics Committee of the Erasme Hospital (Brussels University Clinics) (Erasme Reference: P2016/221 - Erasme Reference: P2016/270). At Erasme Hospital, all patients are informed that their data could be used retrospectively for scientific research. If patients do not want their data to be used, they must inform the hospital, which then indicates it in their medical records, thus preventing any use of their data. The normative subjects used in our study were recruited initially for prospective studies in the sleep laboratory of the Erasme Hospital. All his studies were approved by the Hospital and Medical School Ethics Committee of the Erasme Hospital (Brussels University Clinics) and all normative subjects have agreed to the use of their data for scientific research. All participants provided verbal informed consent for the retrospective use of their data.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing interests

The authors have no conflicts of interest with the work carried out in this study.

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Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

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