Insomnia in hospitalized psychiatric patients: prevalence and associated factors

Abstract

Objectives

To quantify and describe the prevalence of insomnia in hospitalized psychiatric patients and to investigate the associations between insomnia and demographic and clinical factors in hospitalized psychiatric patients.

Methods

The participants included 203 individuals hospitalized for psychiatric treatment at an academic medical center. Demographic information, psychiatric diagnoses, current psychotropic medication use, and history of substance use were collected. Insomnia screening was performed using the Insomnia Severity Index. Depressive and anxiety symptoms were also evaluated using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder questionnaire and the Patient Health Questionnaire. Restless legs syndrome (RLS) symptoms were evaluated using the Restless Legs Syndrome Rating Scale (RLSRS). Statistical analysis was conducted to detect the prevalence of insomnia among the participants and to examine possible associations among psychiatric disorders, psychotropic medications, and RLS.

Results

Out of the 203 participants that completed the survey, 67.4% were found to have insomnia and 14.3% were found to have RLS. The severity of insomnia was found to be associated with the presence of RLS, depressive and anxious symptomatology, suicidal ideation, use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, and use of benzodiazepines.

Keywords:

• insomnia
• depression
• anxiety
• restless legs syndrome

Acknowledgments

We acknowledge the American University of Beirut Medical Center inpatient psychiatric unit for facilitating the recruitment process.

Author contribution

FT, JA, and FK worked on the study conceptualization and design. FT, JA, HG, and ASA worked on recruiting participants and performed data analysis. All authors critically revised the manuscript and approved of the final version.

Disclosure

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.