Sleep problems among clinically depressed adults in China

BACKGROUND: The aim of the study was to explore which variables predict poor sleep among clinically depressed Chinese adults. METHODS: In total, 100 participants were recruited from Shanghai Mental Health Centre. The dependent variables were number of hours spent sleeping as well as the quality of sleep and number of times the participants woke during the night. The independent variables were gender, age, length of depression and severity of depression. The use of antipsychotic medication was controlled for in all analyses. RESULTS: The results demonstrated that depression severity was the most important predictor of sleep quality and night waking. Gender and age were also found to be predictors of sleep problems. CONCLUSIONS: The findings demonstrated that depressed Chinese patients experienced similar relationships between sleep disturbance and depression to Westerners. Future studies should include other measures of sleep quality as well as variables consistently found to be associated with both depression and sleep difficulty, such as the use of addictive substances and psychosocial factors.