title: [Sleep disturbances in patients with generalized anxiety: a clinical and EEG sleep study].
abstract: All night EEG sleep recordings and clinical evaluations of sleep were performed in order to compare patients with generalized anxiety and normal controls. Patients were selected according to DSM III-R criteria and went through a two weeks phase treatment with placebo before the sleep evaluation. As compared to normals, anxious patients showed a fragmented and superficial sleep with no changes of REM sleep features. Further to disturbances of sleep continuity and duration, they had a higher percentage of wake and stage 2, as well as a reduction of slow wave sleep (SWS) mainly due to a diminished percentage of stage 4. Several EEG sleep measures--related both with the amounts of SWS and sleep duration and continuity--are significantly correlated with symptoms severity. The pathogenic significance of sleep disturbances in generalized anxiety is discussed.
authors.affiliation: Serviço de Psiquiatria, Hospital de Santa Maria, Faculdade de Medicina, Lisboa.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Arriaga
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Paiva
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012890:Sleep
vernacular_title: Perturbações do sono em doentes com ansiedade generalizada: estudo clínico e poligráfico.