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. 2022 Feb 1;18(2):587-595.
doi: 10.5664/jcsm.9676.

Worsening sleep quality across the lifespan and persistent sleep disturbances in persons with opioid use disorder

Jennifer D Ellis  1 , Jami L Mayo  1 , Charlene E Gamaldo  1   2 , Patrick H Finan  1 , Andrew S Huhn  1
Affiliations

Worsening sleep quality across the lifespan and persistent sleep disturbances in persons with opioid use disorder

Jennifer D Ellis et al. J Clin Sleep Med. .

Abstract

Study objectives: Individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD) may experience worsening sleep quality over time, and a subset of individuals may have sleep disturbances that precede opioid use and do not resolve following abstinence. The purpose of the present study was to (1) collect retrospective reports of sleep across the lifespan and (2) identify characteristics associated with persistent sleep disturbance and changes in sleep quality in persons with OUD.

Methods: Adults with OUD (n = 154) completed a cross-sectional study assessing current and past sleep disturbance, opioid use history, and chronic pain. Repeated-measures analysis of variance was used to examine changes in retrospectively reported sleep quality, and whether changes varied by screening positive for insomnia and/or chronic pain. Multivariate linear regression analyses were used to identify additional correlates of persistent sleep disturbance.

Results: Participants reported that their sleep quality declined over their lifespan. Changes in reported sleep over time varied based on whether the individual screened positive for co-occurring insomnia and/or chronic pain. In regression analyses, female sex (β = 0.16, P = .042), a greater number of treatment episodes (β = 0.20, P = .024), and positive screens for chronic pain (β = 0.19, P = .018) and insomnia (β=0.22, P = .013) were associated with self-reported persistent sleep disturbance. Only a portion of participants who screened positive for sleep disorders had received a formal diagnosis.

Conclusions: OUD treatment providers should routinely screen for co-occurring sleep disturbance and chronic pain. Interventions that treat co-occurring OUD, sleep disturbance, and chronic pain are needed.

Citation: Ellis JD, Mayo JL, Gamaldo CE, Finan PH, Huhn AS. Worsening sleep quality across the lifespan and persistent sleep disturbances in persons with opioid use disorder. J Clin Sleep Med. 2022;18(2):587-595.

Keywords: chronic pain; insomnia; opioid use disorder; sleep disturbance; treatment.

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Conflict of interest statement

All authors have seen and approved the final manuscript. Work for this study was performed virtually at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. This study was funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse T32 DA007209 (Bigelow) and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (U01 HL150835 01; Huhn/Finan). A.S.H. receives research funding from Ashley Addiction Treatment through his university. The other authors report no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Retrospective report of self-reported sleep quality across the lifespan.
Analysis was based on retrospective reporting of sleep at each of the 3 time points on a 0–100 visual analog scale. OUD = opioid use disorder.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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