Sleep disturbance linked to suicidal ideation in postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome

Figures & data

Table 1 Sleep quality in POTS and controls as measured by PSQI

Component of sleep quality	POTS Mean (SD)	Control Mean (SD)	t(873)=	Significance
Total sleep score (range 0–21)	13.3 (4.1)	7.0 (4.1)	17.7	<0.001
Time asleep (hours)	6.0 (2.4)	7.8 (2.0)	5.8	<0.001
Subjective sleep efficiency (%)	65.4 (21.6)	85.4 (15.3)	−11.3	<0.001
Frequency of sleep disturbances due to pain*	2.2 (1.1)	0.8 (1.0)	15.4	<0.001
Frequency of sleep disturbances due to bad dreams*	1.3 (1.1)	0.6 (0.7)	8.6	<0.001
Frequency of sleep disturbances due to breathing problems*	1.3 (1.2)	0.3 (0.7)	11.1	<0.001
Self-rated sleep quality*	1.9 (0.8)	1.1 (0.7)	12.9	<0.001
Frequency of being unable to get to sleep within 30 minutes*	2.2 (1.1)	1.1 (1.1)	12.4	<0.001
Frequency of waking in the middle of the night or early morning*	2.5 (0.9)	1.9 (1.1)	7.7	<0.001
Frequency of using sleep medicine*	1.5 (1.4)	0.6 (1.1)	7.1	<0.001

Notes:

* Single item on PSQI range 0–3. Higher scores indicate more sleep disturbance.

Abbreviations: POTS, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome; PSQI, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index; SD, standard deviation.

Table 2 Percent of participants with particular sleep disturbances three or more times per week

Disturbance	POTS (%)	Control (%)
Rate sleep quality as fairly or very bad	70.2	25.8
Wake in middle of night or early morning	68.9	42.4
Sleep onset latency >30 minutes	59.9	15.3
Have pain	53.0	10.6
Take medicine to help sleep	40.9	16.5
Cannot breathe comfortably	23.8	3.5
Have bad dreams	18.3	1.8
Considered to have overall poor sleep per the PSQI	98.4	69.4

Abbreviations: POTS, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome; PSQI, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index; SD, standard deviation.

Table 3 Responses to SBQ-R³²

Response	POTS n (%)	Controls n (%)
Item 1: Lifetime suicide ideation/attempts:
1. Never	187 (26.5)	88 (51.8)
2. It was just a brief passing thought	241 (34.2)	57 (33.5)
3a. Had a plan at least once to kill myself but did not try to do it	94 (13.3)	12 (7.0)
3b. Had a plan at least once to kill myself and really wanted to die	74 (10.5)	9 (5.3)
4a. Attempted to kill myself, but did not want to die	41 (5.8)	3 (1.8)
4b. Attempted to kill myself, and really hoped to die	68 (9.6)	1 (0.6)
Item 2: Suicide ideation frequency in the past 12 months:
1. Never	309 (43.8)	134 (78.8)
2. Rarely (1 time)	134 (19.0)	19 (11.2)
3. Sometimes (2 times)	111 (15.7)	9 (5.3)
4. Often (3–4 times)	64 (9.1)	6 (3.5)
5. Very often (5 or more times)	87 (12.3)	2 (1.2)
Item 3: Threat of suicide attempt:
1. No	448 (63.5)	141 (82.9)
2a. Yes, one time, but did not really want to die	87 (12.3)	21 (12.4)
2b. Yes, one time, and really wanted to die	65 (9.2)	5 (2.9)
3a. Yes, more than once, but did not want to do it	46 (6.5)	2 (1.2)
3b. Yes, more than once, and really wanted to do it	59 (8.4)	1 (0.6)
Item 4: Likelihood of suicidal behavior in the future:
0. Never	315 (44.6)	110 (64.7)
1. No chance at all	127 (18.0)	27 (15.9)
2. Rather unlikely	142 (20.2)	25 (14.7)
3. Unlikely	70 (9.9)	6 (3.5)
4. Likely	33 (4.7)	2 (1.2)
5. Rather likely	9 (1.3)	0 (0.0)
6. Very Likely	9 (1.3)	0 (0.0)
SBQ-R total score:
High risk	333 (47.2)	27 (15.9)

Note: Reprinted by permission of SAGE Publications, Inc. Osman A, Bagge CL, Gutierrez PM, Konick LC, Kopper BA, Barrios FX, Assessment. 2001;8(4):443–454, Copyright ©2001 by SAGE Publications.³²

Abbreviations: POTS, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome; SBQ-R, Suicide Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised.

OsmanABaggeCLGutierrezPMKonickLCKopperBABarriosFXThe suicidal behaviors questionnaire-revised (SBQ-R): validation with clinical and nonclinical samplesAssessment20018444345411785588

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