1 School of Psychological Science, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, Western Australia, 6009, Australia. flavie.waters@health.wa.gov.au.
2 Clinical Research Centre, Graylands Hospital, North Metropolitan Health Service-Mental Health, Perth, Western Australia, Australia. flavie.waters@health.wa.gov.au.
3 Psychiatric Unit I Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Via Roma 67, Pisa, Italy.
4 Center for Studies in Behavioral Neurobiology & PERFORM Center, Department of Exercise Science, Concordia University, 7141 Sherbrooke St. West, SP 165.27, Montreal, H4B 1R6, Canada.
5 Centre de Recherche de l'Institut Universitaire de Gériatrie de Montréal (CRIUGM), 4545 chemin Queen-Mary, M5815, Montreal, H3W 1W5, Canada.

Psychiatric Illness and Parasomnias: a Systematic Review.

Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2017 Jul;19(7):37

Authors: Waters F, Moretto U, Dang-Vu TT

Abstract

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Little is known about the presence of parasomnias such as nightmare disorder, sleep paralysis, REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD), and sleep-related eating disorders (SRED) in people with mental illness. A predominant view suggests that psychotropic medications might be contributing to parasomnias. This article summarizes knowledge regarding the relationships between psychiatric disorders and parasomnias, and possible confounds. A systematic search of the literature in the past 10 years identified 19 articles.

RECENT FINDINGS: There were significantly elevated rates of parasomnias in psychiatric disorders (average prevalence of nightmares was 38.9%, sleep paralysis 22.3%, SRED 9.9%, sleepwalking 8.5%, and RBD 3.8%). Medication usage was only one of many risk factors (other sleep disorders, medical comorbidities, and substance abuse) which were associated with parasomnias. A strong association exists between mental illness and parasomnias which is not fully explained by medications. Prospective longitudinal studies are needed to develop a better understanding of the unique and shared variance from multiple risk factors.

PMID: 28534293 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]