SAN FRANCISCO, April 25 -- A significant number of patients with major depression also suffer from chronic insomnia that hampers recovery, a sleep expert said here.
"Treating the insomnia pharmacologically or behaviorally can improve outcomes in depression," said Christopher L. Drake, Ph.D., of the Henry Ford Hospital Sleep Disorders and Research Center in Detroit.
The prevalence of insomnia comorbid with psychiatric disorders is 40.4%, with major depression accounting for about 15%, he said in a presentation at the U.S. Psychiatric and Mental Health Congress regional extension meeting here.
Depression treatment itself may increase the risk of sleep disturbance. A 2002 study in the Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology found that 15% to 25% of patients on a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor antidepressant had insomnia as an adverse event while 15% to 20% reported somnolence during double-blind acute treatment.
