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- Danielsson, Katarina, 1983-
(author)
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Delayed Sleep Phase Disorder : Prevalence, Diagnostic aspects, Associated factors and Treatment concepts
- 2016
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Delayed sleep phase disorder (DSPD) is the most common circadian rhythm sleep disorder. Persons with DSPD have great difficulties falling asleep and waking up at conventional times. To diagnose DSPD this delayed sleep-wake rhythm should cause social impairment and distress for the individual. Evening melatonin and morning bright light are the recommended treatments. The overall aim of this thesis was to evaluate at-home treatment with Light therapy (LT) and the feasibility of adding cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) to LT in DSPD, furthermore prevalence, diagnostic aspects and associated factors were investigated.Study I included 673 randomly selected individuals aged 16–26 years. The prevalence of DSPD was 4.0%. Unemployment (defined as an absence of educational or work activities) and an elevated level of anxiety were associated with DSPD.In study II, dim light melatonin onset (DLMO) was measured in healthy adults. Time for DLMO DLMO (Mean±SD) was 20:58±55 minutes.Studies III, IV, and V present results from a randomized controlled trial examining the feasibility of CBT as an additive treatment to LT with scheduled rise times, in persons with DSPD. Sleep onset and sleep offset was significantly advanced from baseline (03:00±1:20; 10:22±2:02 respectively) to the end of LT (01:27±1:41; 08:05±1:29, p<0.001 respectively). This advancement was predicted by consistent daily usage of the LT-lamp. At the follow-ups after LT and CBT or LT alone, sleep onset remained stable, sleep offset was delayed, and sleep difficulties were further improved, but there was no significant group interaction over time. There was a significant group interaction over time in the severity of anxiety and depressive symptoms, both in favor of the LT+CBT group.Conclusively, DSPD was common among adolescents and young adults and it was associated with unemployment and elevated levels of anxiety. DLMO appeared in the expected time range in healthy working adults. At-home treatment with LT with scheduled rise times advanced sleep-wake rhythm and improved sleep difficulties in DSPD. Even though sleep-wake rhythm was not further advanced or better preserved in the participants that received LT+CBT compared to LT alone, the addition of CBT to the treatment regimen was feasible and well accepted.
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| 2. |
- Johansson, Anna, 1965-
(author)
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Sleep-Wake-Activity and Health-Related Quality of Life in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease and evaluation of an individualized non-pharmacological programme to promote self-care in sleep
- 2012
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Sleep is a basic need, important to physical and psychological recovery. Insomnia implies sleep-related complaints, such as difficulty falling asleep, difficulty staying asleep, early awakening, or non-restorative sleep (NRS) in an individual who has adequate circumstances and opportunity to sleep. Insomnia is also related to impairment of daytime functions. The prevalence of reported sleep disturbances varies between 15% and 60% in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) up to five years after intervention. Disturbed sleep may have a negative impact on self-care capacity and behaviours. Little attention has been given to evaluation of sleep promotion through individualized non-pharmacological interventions among CAD patients.The overall aim of this thesis was to describe the impact of sleep quality and disrupted sleep on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with stable CAD, in comparison to a population-based group. The objective was also to evaluate an individualized non-pharmacological programme to promote self-care in sleep.Four studies were conducted during seven years, starting in 2001. Patients from six hospitals in the south of Sweden were invited to participate. In addition, an age and gender matched population-based group was randomly selected during the same period as the patients and was used for comparison with the CAD patients in two of the studies. Data was collected through interviews, self-reported questionnaires, a study specific sleep diary and actigraphy registrations. A pretest-posttest control design was used to evaluate whether an individualized non-pharmacological intervention programme could promote self-care in sleep-activity in CAD patients.The results showed a high prevalence of insomniac CAD patients out of whom a large proportion were non-rested insomniacs. This showed that NRS is one of the core symptoms of insomnia. On the other hand there were weak or non-significant gender differences with increasing insomnia severity. Severe insomniac CAD patients displayed a two or threefold higher presleep arousal or anxiety score and were more limited in taking physical exercise than the general population. Generally low sleep efficiency (SE%) was revealed in the studies, particularly among severe non-rested insomniac CAD patients.Among CAD patients, the individualized non-pharmacological programme to promote self-care in sleep-activity indicated improvements in sleep and HRQoL.This thesis elucidates the importance of focusing on the individual’s perception of their sleep-activity and health in their local context and supporting self-care management. Furthermore, it is of importance that nurses set individual goals together with the patient in order to increase self-efficacy to promote HRQoL.
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| 3. |
- Bergdahl, Lena, 1980-
(author)
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Auricular acupuncture for insomnia
- 2017
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT-i) is the most effective treatment for insomnia. Studies show that auricular acupuncture (AA) may alleviate insomnia symptoms.The overall aim of the thesis was to compare treatment effects of auricular acupuncture (AA) with cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT-i) on symptoms of insomnia, anxiety, depression, hypnotic drugs consumption and quality of life from short- and long-term perspectives.Paper I had a qualitative approach with a descriptive design. 16 participants received group-treatment with AA during their protracted withdrawal phase and were interviewed about their experiences. They participants experienced a reduction in protracted withdrawal symptoms, improved subjective sleep quality, a strong sensation of peacefulness and increased wellbeing.Paper II, III and IV present results from a randomised controlled trial in where the effects of group-treatment with AA and CBT-i were compared in short- and long-term using subjective (questionnaires and sleep diary) and objective (actigraphy) measurements.The results showed that CBT-i was superior to AA in reducing insomnia symptoms in both the short and long run. Both groups experienced significant long-term reduction of depressive symptoms. Further, both groups managed to maintain a decreased intake of hypnotic drugs at the end of the treatment when compared to baseline measurement. Short-term reduction of symptoms of anxiety and depression improved only in the AA group. The results from the objective actigraph recordings showed that the AA group slept more and the CBT-i group less after the treatment and that sleep patterns in both groups reverted to pre-treatment levels after 6 months.Conclusively: AA, as administered in this study, was not as good as CBT-i in treating insomnia symptoms, and should not be used as a stand-alone treatment for insomnia. Our results also demonstrate that prolonged sleep time does not necessarily yield better sleep, and that the perception of insomnia symptoms is not inevitably affected by sleep duration. AA was as effective as CBT-i in ending hypnotic drugs consumption. Moreover, AA was more successful than CBT-i in reducing symptoms of anxiety and depression in the short run. Further studies investigating AA for anxiety and depression are motivated.
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| 4. |
- Bothelius, Kristoffer, 1973-
(author)
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Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia : How, for Whom and What about Acceptance?
- 2015
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Sleep is essential for survival but a significant minority of the adult population are dissatisfied with their sleep, and 6-10% meet the criteria for insomnia disorder, characterised by difficulties falling asleep at bedtime, waking up in the middle of the night or too early in the morning, and daytime symptoms. Cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT-I), an evidence-based sleep-focused intervention, has been suggested as the treatment of choice for chronic insomnia. However, access to specialised sleep therapists is sparse, and a service delivery model based on the principles of ‘stepped care’ has been proposed. Even though CBT-I is shown to be effective, there is a need to continue the development of cognitive behavioural treatments for insomnia. As a complement to traditional interventions, the potential value of acceptance, that is, to make an active choice of openness towards psychological experiences, has been recognized. However, it has not yet been systematically investigated, and specific instruments for studying acceptance in insomnia are lacking.The present thesis is based on three studies: Study I showed that manual-guided CBT for insomnia delivered by ordinary primary care personnel has a significant effect on perceived insomnia severity, sleep onset latency and wake time after sleep onset. Study II demonstrated that non-responders in Study I reported shorter sleep time at baseline than did responders, a notion that may help select patients for this type of low-end intervention in a stepped care treatment approach. Study III aimed to develop a new assessment instrument for studying acceptance of insomnia, the Sleep Problem Acceptance Questionnaire (SPAQ), resulting in an eight-item questionnaire with two factors; the first being Activity Engagement, persisting with normal activities even when sleep is unsatisfactory, and the second involving Willingness, avoiding fighting and trying to control sleep problems.In conclusion, the present thesis demonstrates that it is feasible to treat patients with insomnia using CBT-I administrated by ordinary primary care personnel in general practice, and that those with relatively longer initial sleep duration benefit most from treatment, enabling allocation to relevant treatment intensity. In addition, acceptance of sleep difficulties may be quantified using the SPAQ.
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| 5. |
- Hagell, Peter, et al.
(author)
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Measurement properties of the Minimal Insomnia Symptom Scale (MISS) as an insomnia screening tool among adults and the elderly
- 2015
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In: The 6th International Conference on Probabilistic Models for Measurement in Education.
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Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Background: The Minimal Insomnia Symptom Scale (MISS) has been suggested as a brief 3-item screening tool for detecting insomnia. Each item has an ordered 5-category (0-4) response scale and the instrument yields a total score between 0-12 (higher scores = more insomnia). Available MISS evaluations have been based on classical test theory (CTT) approaches. Different cut-offs for identifying insomnia have been suggested for adults (aged 20-64) and elderly (aged 65+). For adults, a cut-off of ≥6 has been suggested, while a cut-off of ≥7 has been suggested for the elderly, as determined from applications of the Youden index. Aim: To test the measurement properties of the MISS using the Rasch measurement model, with special emphasis on Differential Item Functioning (DIF) by age, and to explore implications for the two suggested cut-off scores. Design: Cross-sectional MISS data from adult (n=1075) and elderly (n=548) populations were analysed by the unrestricted polytomous Rasch measurement model using the RUMM2030 software program. To avoid an inflated type I error rate, sample size was algebraically adjusted to 500 in the calculation of P-values while leaving all other aspects of data (e.g., locations, fit residuals) unaltered. Results: Mean person location was -1.095 (SD, 1.28), i.e. items tend to represent more severe levels of insomnia than that experienced by the sample. However, for the purpose of screening this may be considered acceptable. There were no statistically significant deviations from model expectations, with a non-significant overall item-trait interaction (χ2 = 26.94, P=0.173). Reliability (PSI) was 0.59 suggesting that the MISS can separate approximately two statistically distinct groups of people (1.92 strata). The highest Information Function (IF) was found at -0.2 logits. There were no disordered response category thresholds. There was uniform DIF by age for all three items, which disappeared following adjustment (split by age group) for the most pronounced DIF, suggesting that DIF was artificial for two items. Examination of raw scores-to-location estimates between the two age groups revealed differences at the lower and higher ends of the scale. The raw score cut-off of ≥6 was associated with a smaller logit difference between age groups than the ≥7 cut-off (0.09 vs. 0.23). That is, at a raw score of 6 the two age groups were comparable regarding their logit location estimates. This raw score (representing a logit value of -0.03 for the pooled sample) was also the one closest to the location of the highest IF (i.e., -0.2 logits). Summary and implications: This study provides general support for the measurement properties of the MISS. However, caution should be exercised in comparing MISS scores between age groups, but applying a ≥6 raw score cut-off appears to allow for valid comparisons between adults and elderly regarding the presence of insomnia. Nevertheless, additional studies are needed to determine the clinically optimal cut-score for identification of insomnia.
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| 6. |
- Westergren, Albert, et al.
(author)
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Measurement properties of the Minimal Insomnia Symptom Scale (MISS) as an insomnia screening tool among adults and the elderly
- 2015
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In: Sleep Medicine. - : Elsevier BV. - 1389-9457 .- 1878-5506. ; 16:3, s. 379-384
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: The psychometric properties of the 3-item Minimal Insomnia Symptom Scale (MISS) have been evaluated using classical test theory. Different cut-offs for identifying insomnia have been suggested in two age groups (≥6 and ≥7 among adult and elderly people, respectively). The aim of this study was to test the measurement properties of the MISS using the Rasch measurement model, with special emphasis on differential item functioning by gender and age.Methods: Cross-sectional MISS data from adult (age 20-64 years; n=1075) and elderly (age 65+; n=548) populations were analysed by the Rasch measurement model.Results: Data generally met Rasch model requirements and the scale could separate between two distinct groups of people, but there was differential item functioning by age. The difference between the adult and elderly samples was lower for the originally recommended ≥6 points cut-off (0.09 logits) than for the ≥7 points cut-off (0.23 logits), but greater at the lower and higher ends of the scale.Conclusions: This study provides support for the measurement properties of the MISS. However, caution should be exercised in comparing raw MISS scores between age groups, but applying a ≥6 cut-off appears to allow for valid comparisons between adults and elderly
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