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Study Reveals Link Between Sleep Patterns and Psychiatric Disorders in Young Adults

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Young adults with psychiatric and behavioral disorders are more likely to experience a decline in sleep intensity and sleep depth more dramatically after adolescence.

Data presented at SLEEP 2023 in Indianapolis, IN, addressed the developmental changes in sleep patterns during adolescence and their associations with psychiatric and behavioral disorders. The study focused on non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep slow wave activity (SWA) and a novel sleep EEG biomarker odds ratio product (ORP), which measures sleep depth.1

The investigators established a link between the developmental trajectories of sleep depth (ORP) and intensity (SWA) with psychopathology, suggesting young adults with psychiatric and behavioral disorders are more likely to experience a decline in sleep intensity (SWA) and sleep depth (ORP) more dramatically after adolescence.

The team of investigators, led by Julio Fernandez-Mendoza, PhD, associate professor at Penn State College of Medicine, and director of the Behavioral Sleep Medicine accredited training program, used discrete mixture models to analyze the longitudinal data series and identify distinct developmental trajectories of SWA and ORP.

Statistical tests were then conducted to analyze 150 participants from the Penn State Child Cohort, who were followed from childhood through adolescence into young adulthood, with a median follow-up of 15 years. The median age at each life stage was 9, 16, and 24 years, respectively.

The study investigated the proponent of participants with psychiatric and behavioral disorders across the different trajectory groups and identified age-related declines in SWA across 2 developmental groups.

The first group exhibited a cubic trajectory, while the other followed a linear trajectory. Age-related increases in ORP across 3 developmental groups, 1 was linear and 2 were quadratic.

According to the results, the trajectories with the steepest declines in SWA and ORP during the transition to young adulthood were significantly associated with a higher proportion of participants with a history of psychiatric and behavioral disorders. The weakest reported slope slope trajectory was 53.2% and the greatest was 78.6%.

The findings provided important insights into the maturational trajectories of sleep patterns and their implications for mental health, investigators said. These trajectories of SWA and ORP can be replicated by examining time points across 3 distinct developmental stages, including young adulthood.

The study acknowledged the need for further research to elucidate the underlying mechanisms driving these associations, which could inform the development of targeted interventions aimed at improving sleep quality and mitigating the risk of mental health issues in vulnerable populations.

References:

  1. Fernandez-Mendoza J, Isely A, He F, et al. 0100 Developmental trajectories of SWA and ORP since childhood in young adults: association with psychiatric/behavioral disorders. SLEEP. 2023;46(Supplement_1):A45.

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