Is insomnia a marker for psychiatric disorders in general hospitals?

Background And Purpose: The aim was to evaluate the relationship between insomnia and psychiatric disorders in general hospital inpatients.

Patients And Methods: Information about insomnia was collected using a structured and codified questionnaire adapted from a previously validated one in Brazil. For Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV (DSM-IV) psychiatric diagnosis, the Portuguese version of the International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) was used.

Results: Out of the 200 patients interviewed, 56.5% complained of insomnia, and 50.0% suffered from at least one psychiatric disorder. Major depressive episode (MDE) (P<0.001), generalized anxiety disorder (P=0.025) and suicide risk (P=0.034) were associated with insomnia (univariate analysis). The results of the multivariate analysis showed that only MDE had a statistically significant association with insomnia (OR=3.6; 95% CI=1.9-6.9).

Conclusions: This study found a high prevalence of psychiatric disorders and insomnia in a general hospital population and found that insomnia can be a marker for MDE.