title: Challenging the validity of the association between oversleeping and overeating in atypical depression.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  In this study, we used a strict definition of hypersomnia and tested if the association between overeating-hypersomnia remained positive and significant. Hypersomnia was present if the total sleep time was close to 10h per day or was at least 2h longer than in normothymic periods.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional study using the adult general population of California and New York. The sample was composed of 6694 individuals aged between 18 and 96years. Participants were interviewed by telephone using the Sleep-EVAL system. The interviews included various sleep and health topics and the assessment of DSM-IV sleep and psychiatric disorders.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The one-month prevalence of major depressive episode was 6.1%, including a one-month prevalence of atypical depression of 1.6%, in this sample. Atypical depression subjects had a greater number of depressive symptoms and a longer duration of the current depressive episode than the other depressive subjects. Depressive subjects with hypersomnia slept longer (8h, 29min) than the other depressive subjects (6h, 36min) and longer than the subjects "getting too much sleep" (6h, 48min). Furthermore, hypersomnia was not associated with overeating while "getting too much sleep" showed a positive association with overeating.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Hypersomnia needs to be evaluated using a strict definition. Otherwise, it leads to an overestimation of this symptom in major depressive episode subjects and to a false association with overeating.
authors.affiliation: Chief of the Division of Public Mental Health and Population Sciences, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, School of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA. Electronic address: mohayon@stanford.edu.
authors.forename: Maurice M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Ohayon
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, School of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA. Electronic address: robertsl@stanford.edu.
authors.forename: Laura Weiss
authors.initials: LW
authors.lastname: Roberts
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002140:California / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology*; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000523:psychology*; D006970:Disorders of Excessive Somnolence / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006963:Hyperphagia / Q000453:epidemiology*; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009518:New York / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012890:Sleep; D007319:Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*
keywords: Atypical features; Hypersomnia; Major depressive disorder