Comorbidity of insomnia and depression.
During the last decade, several studies have shown that insomnia, rather than a symptom of depression, could be a medical condition on its own, showing high comorbidity with depression. Epidemiological research indicates that insomnia could lead to depression and/or that common causalities underlie the two disorders. Neurobiological and sleep EEG studies suggest that a heightened level of arousal may play a common role in both conditions and that signs of REM sleep disinhibition may appear in individuals prone to depression. The effects of antidepressant drugs on non-REM and REM sleep are discussed in relation to their use in insomnia comorbid with depression. Empirical treatment approaches are behavioral management of sleep combined with prescription of a sedative antidepressant alone, co-prescription of two antidepressants, or of an antidepressant with a hypnotic drug.
Staner
Luc
L
Sleep Laboratory, Forenap, Centre Hospitalier de Rouffach, 27 rue du 4ème R.S.M. F-68250 Rouffach, France. luc.staner@forenap.com
D001521:Behavior Therapy; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D015897:Comorbidity; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004569:Electroencephalography; D006801:Humans; D006993:Hypnotics and Sedatives / Q000627:therapeutic use; D007319:Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy*; D012895:Sleep, REM / Q000502:physiology
D006993:Hypnotics and Sedatives