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BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Characteristics of sleep concerns and their relationship to mental health in heterogeneous substance use disorder (SUD) treatment settings are not well understood. The purpose of this preliminary study was to assess sleep using subjective and objective measures at two time points during SUD treatment and compare sleep changes to changes in mental health measures. METHODS Treatment-seeking participants completed an assessment battery at the beginning of treatment (Time 1, N = 30) and again upon treatment completion (Time 2, approximately 4 weeks later, N = 22). The majority of participants were White (80%), male (63%), and presenting for alcohol use disorder (60.0%), though almost half reported polysubstance abuse (43%). Comorbidity was common (53%). Sleep and mental health questionnaires with 1 week of actigraphy and sleep diaries were completed at both time points. RESULTS Most participants met the criteria for a sleep disorder and mean scores on questionnaires showed poor sleep quality, insomnia symptoms, and frequent nightmares, with sleep quality and insomnia improving over time but remaining clinically significant. Nightmares did not improve. Actigraphy indicated poor sleep at both time points. Improvement in insomnia was related to improvement in measures of mental health while changes in actigraphy variables were not related to these measures. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS Multiple types of sleep disturbance are prevalent in this population, with nightmares persisting throughout treatment and insomnia symptoms showing a relationship with mental health symptoms. SCIENTIFIC SIGNIFICANCE This was the first study to longitudinally assess mental health with subjective and objective measures of sleep across multiple types of SUDs in a community SUD treatment setting.

Background Insomnia and other types of sleep disturbance are highly prevalent during withdrawal across many different types of substance use disorders (SUDs). It is largely unknown how sleep impacts SUD treatment outcomes, including treatment completion. Methods A retrospective chart review was conducted to obtain information about sleep disturbance and treatment completion in individuals beginning an intensive outpatient (IOP) SUD treatment program. Demographic data were collected along with number of sessions completed, treatment completion, comorbid psychiatric diagnosis, pertinent lab results, and scores on three self-reported measures of sleep: the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS). Results Pertinent information was available for 110 individuals. The majority had clinically significant scores on the ISI and PSQI but not the ESS. ISI, but not PSQI or ESS, was associated with treatment completion, such that those with more insomnia were less likely to complete treatment. Conclusion The high prevalence of insomnia symptoms and poor sleep quality coupled with the relationship between insomnia severity and treatment completion may indicate that more severe symptoms of insomnia are a risk factor for treatment completion and subsequent relapse across many substance types. Applying evidence-based insomnia interventions in SUD treatment programs may have meaningful implications for outcomes.

Introduction Previous studies have shown that sleep problems are commonly reported during treatment for substance use disorders (SUDs) and sleep complaints have been linked to subsequent relapse. However, most of these findings were in well-controlled clinical trials and may not generalize to the public. Little is known about the natural progression of sleep complaints during treatment in community clinics, the most common treatment approach for SUDs. The aim of this study is to longitudinally assess prevalence of clinically significant sleep disturbance at baseline and post-treatment in a community-based intensive outpatient (IOP) SUD treatment program using a multi-method approach with well-validated measures of sleep. Methods Adults beginning IOP SUD treatment completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), Nightmare Disorder index (NDI), and one week of actigraphy and sleep diaries. Measures were repeated following treatment (approximately 5 weeks later). Results Preliminary analyses on 21 adults who have been enrolled thus far revealed 85.6% of participants experienced sleep disturbance (PSQI > 5) at baseline. 28.5% of participants reached cutoff for moderate-to-severe insomnia symptoms (ISI > 15) and 42.9% reported nightmares more than once per week. Sleep parameters taken from actigraphy and sleep diaries revealed mean sleep efficiency was 77.5% (TST M = 6.2 hours; TIB M = 7.9 hours). These variables did not improve from baseline to post-treatment. Further, most measures indicated a worsening of sleep, though this did not reach significance (all ps > .05). Conclusion This preliminary data show a high prevalence of self-reported sleep complaints and objectively measured poor sleep efficiency that do not improve over the course of treatment. Data collection is ongoing and expected to at least double. More robust analyses, including differences between SUD type (e.g., cannabis vs. opioid) and relationship to relapse at post-treatment, will then be completed. Support K12DA031794