Friday, December 28, 2007

Screening for substance use patterns among patients referred for a mixture of sleep complaints

There is a growing body of evidence suggesting that there is a significant relationship between substance invective and insomnia. For example, Brower et al. (1) found that the majority of alcoholic patients entering treatment reported insomnia-related symptoms, such as difficulty initiating and maintaining sleep. Similarly, Williams et al. (2) and Vitiello (3) report that beside increased use of alcohol, rapid eye movement sleep and sleep-onset latency halt and slow wave sleep and delayed night disturbances of sleep increase. Interestingly plenty, while many factor interact with insomnia, difficulty falling asleep is reported to be the most significant factor associated next to substance use (4). In addition, the use of any single substance (stimulants, depressants, narcotics, or other illicit drugs) or a combination of substances is associated next to sleep problems (5). While this relationship is well documented, the underlying piece of equipment between sleep patterns and drug and alcohol assault is not well embedded (5, 6). Therefore, the presence of insomnia should be viewed as a red flag to physicians and form care professionals, indicating that an assessment for drug and alcohol foul language is warranted


Sleep disturbances are apparent within person taking illicit drugs and alcohol (7) and hold been found to keep trying long after withdrawal from these substances have occurred. For example, Currie et al. (8), and Brower et al. (1) report that recovering alcoholics can experience significant sleep problems months after quitting drinking. Of significance is the certainty that Currie et al. (8) found that 50% of participants reported sleep problems prior to alcohol dependence beginning. In addition, Drummond et al. (6) report that contained by a follow-up study on alcohol-abstinent participants, some aspects of the recovering patients sleep still showed anomalous patterns after 27 months of complete stinginess. The same pattern of results is adjectives across different cultures.


For some, sleep disturbance can be so severe as to reverse treatment success and precipitate a relapse to addiction or dependence (9, 10). In certainty, Brower et al. (1) found that the presence of insomnia was the most significant factor predicting relapse. Similar findings are reported by Vitiello (3). Furthermore, bill from drug use can in itself induce assorted disruptions involving mood, sleep, and food intake, which further impede recovery (11). Consequently, Maher (9) suggests that vigilance is required when treating insomnia in patients next to drug and alcohol problems.


The relationship between drug abuse, alcohol mishandle, and insomnia further may be complicated by the presence of other psychiatric issues such as mood, anxiety, and depression. Other factors including lifestyle and behavioral customs also play a part (12). According to MacKenzie et al. (13), anxiety and depression could be considered as signs for alcohol relapse, which, in return, can verbs to negatively impact individuals' quality of sleep. Similarly, Foster et al. (14), Breslau et al. (15) and Foster and Peters (16) report a significant interaction between depression and insomnia among mildly, moderately, and severely dependent drinkers. A study by Roehrs et al. (17) found that sleep and mood effects appear to be associated near the reinforcing effects of alcohol as a hypnotic for insomniacs. This means that alcohol might be used as a self-medicating substance by individuals next to sleep problems. A cross-sectional study by Loyaza et al. (18) on medical students found a significant relationship between insomnia and the presence of psychiatric disorders. Interestingly, Loyaza et al. (18) also found gender differences within the type of insomnia reported. Females had more difficulties maintain sleep and males more difficulties with falling asleep next and waking up impulsive.


Furthermore, Johnson and Breslau (5) carried out a longtitudinal study to obtain background gathered from 13,831 adolescents next to psychiatric problems. The researchers found that the use of cigarettes, alcohol, and illicit drugs each be associated with reported sleep problems, internalization (e.g., depression and anxiety), and externalization tendency such as deviance and aggression. A similar study by Wong et al. (19) found that early sleep problems and precipitate onset of alcohol use, which are mediate by early presence of attention problems, anxiety, depression, and aggression surrounded by early childhood, are marker for later alcohol and drug use disorders. Therefore, sleep disturbance can provide the treating professional near information to better plan treatment for alcohol and drug abusers in the context of psychiatric issues. According to Pary et al. (20), the treating health professional wants to get to the root of sleeping problems by screening for medical, psychiatric, and sleep disorders, as all right as chemical dependency. The interaction of insomnia with substance use and psychiatric illnesses may further pose a treatment resist when dealing with medication. A survey of 311 physicians in the United States revealed that plentiful are reluctant to prescribe medication to insomniacs in the early taking back phase for fear of a denial interaction between medication and drugs or alcohol, which might be present in their system (21).


Screening for alcohol and drug related problems in primary care settings sleep disorders clinics is extremely crucial. For some, this setting might be the only place where on earth early detection can materialize. According to National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (22), structured interviews and self-report measures are useful, inexpensive, noninvasive, and relatively accurate tools. These screening tools should be select based on staff experience and training, time constraints, and population characteristics; they also involve to be used on a consistent basis. While tons studies suggest that primary health settings potentially can play a significant role in the impulsive detection and intervention process (by using measures such as Michigan Alcohol Screening Test [MAST] and Drug Abuse Screening Test [DAST] screening tools), few doctors screen for substance and alcohol use (23, 24).


According to Statistics Canada (25-27), the overall percentage of individuals 15 years or older reporting illicit dependence be 0.7%, of which men reported 1% use and women 0.4% use. The reports from Statistics Canada identify that alcohol dependence among Canadian population was even highly developed (9%), of which 6.2% were categorized as slightly probable cases of alcohol dependence and 2.6% importantly probable cases of alcohol dependence. Statistics Canada also reported that males overall had a sophisticated alcohol dependency than women (9.5% of males vs. 3% females categorized as "slightly probable cases of alcohol dependence" and 3.8% males vs. 1.3% females categorized as "highly probable defence of alcohol dependence").


This particular study sought to examine substance use pattern among patients referred for a variety of sleep complaints. Based on the findings that sleep disorders next to or without a concurrent psychiatric disorder are closely associated next to substance disorders, higher rates of substance use pattern among patients with a variety of sleep complaints were to be expected.


METHOD


Participants (N = 46) be outpatients in a sleep disorders center within Ontario, Canada; 44% were manly and 30% were feminine, gender be unknown for 26%, mean age be 46 years. All participants be referred to the center for a variety of sleep-related complaints. Typically, here sleep center patients sought consultation for around various sleep complaints including sleep apnea, continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) consultation for sleep apnea, restless legs syndrome, insomnia, daytime sleepiness/fatigue, narcolepsy, sleep-wake diary, parasomnias, or seizures. It should be noted however, that surrounded by this study participants did not specify the character of their sleep complaints. These complaints, however, are most likely representative of our own clinical taste. Thirteen cases were excluded from this study due to incomplete answers on the DAST and MAST.


Materials used here particular study included two brief screening tools for alcohol and drug use, namely the MAST and the DAST. All participant gave written informed consent to play a part in this study. A sleep medication physician met with adjectives the participants for a sleep consultation.


The MAST is a widely used weigh for assessing alcohol abuse. This question paper consists of 25-item questionnaire designed to provide rapid and potent screening for long-term alcohol-related problems. The MAST can be used in either a paper-and-pencil or interview format Seizer (51). The MAST score are divided into 3 categories, a win of 0-3 for "nonalcoholic," a score of 4 for "suggestive of alcoholism," and a ranking of 5 and above for "indicates alcoholism." According to Conley (28), the MAST measure is reliable and correlates outstandingly with DSM-IV (29) diagnostic criteria. Other studies arrived at similar conclusions in connection with the acceptable reliability and authenticity of the MAST (30-32). Various versions of the MAST hold been adapted to assorted populations and also have be found to be reliable and valid measures (33, 34).


The DAST test measures drug use and related problems. This 20-item instrument may be given as any self-report or in a structured interview. The DAST rack up is divided into 5 categories including (nonreported drug use), 1-5 (low even drug use), 6-10 (moderate level drug use), 11-15 (substantial rank drug use) and 16-20 (severe level drug use). It is constructed similarly to the early MAST and has be shown to have well-mannered validity, test-retest reliability, and elevated internal consistency (35-41). In addition, the DAST have been used within a variety of settings including the workplace (40), psychiatric settings (39), community form settings (36), as well as by common practice physicians (42). Furthermore, the DAST has shown to be potent in screening for drug rough up across diagnostic groups such as individuals with dually diagnosed mental condition problems (43) and adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorders (38). According to Tassiopoulos et al. (44), though, confirmation of self-report disclosure on subjective test (such as the MAST and DAST measures) that rely on individuals' honest account of drug/alcohol use should be corroborated beside biochemical analysis (such as using urine samples).


RESULTS


Results of the MAST found that, overall, 76% of participants fell into "nonalcoholic" category, 11% fell into the "suggestive of alcoholism" category, and 13% of participant fell into the "indicates alcoholism" category. Out of a total of 20 male participant, 80% fell into the "nonalcoholic" category, 5% fell into the "suggestive of alcoholism" category, and 15% fell into the "indicates alcoholism" category. Out of 14 female participant, 86% fell into the "nonalcoholic" category, 7% fell into "suggestive of alcoholism" category, and 7% fell into the "indicates alcoholism" category.


Results of the DAST found that, overall, 65% fell into the "none reported" category, 33% of participants fell into the "low level" category, and 2% fell into the "substantial level" category. Out of a total of 20 mannish participants, 60% fell into the "none reported" category, 35% fell into the "low level" category, and 5% fell into the "substantial level" category. Out of a total of 14 womanly participants, 71% fell into the "nonreported" category and 29% fell into the "low level" category. Our study also found that 2% of participant fell into both the "indicates alcoholism" category on the MAST and "substantial level" category on the DAST.


Chi-square analyses were perform to compare the distribution of males and females across substance use categories on the MAST and the DAST. No significant differences be observed.


DISCUSSION


Consistent with the literature, our study found considerably sophisticated drug and alcohol use patterns among patients beside a variety of sleep complaints than in the broad population. Related to this, our study found that overall, 24% had alcohol problems, of which 13% of participant had alcohol dependence, compared next to 2.6% from Statistics Canada; our study found that 2.2% of participants have drug dependence, compared with 0.7% from Statistics Canada (25-27). These findings support our hypothesis that folks with diverse sleep-related problems are more likely to enjoy substance use issues because alcohol and drug use is likely to negatively impact sleep power. Given these significant findings, sleep medicine physicians and primary comfort physicians should consider routinely using brief screening tools such as the MAST and the DAST for assessing alcohol and drug patterns among their patients.


With respect to masculinity differences, and consistent with Statistics Canada (25-27) reports, our study found high drug and alcohol use patterns among males than females. A cutting of our study was that the preview size was small, limiting the knack to apply the findings to the general sleep disorders population. Related to the small preview size, the number of males and females limited our wherewithal to make shrewd comparisons. One might consider for future hint how findings differ along gender lines.


Another reduction is the use of self-report questionnaires. The issue of social desirability other needs to be considered within self-report questionnaires that do not contain acceptability scales (impression management) as some individuals downplay their symptom picture. This might be especially relevant when asking sensitive questions in the order of alcohol and illicit drug use because of its attached social stigma and the fact that illicit drug use is illegitimate in Canada.


Thus, individuals may hold vested interests in concealing their drug use. In addition, individuals who are in denial of their substance use problems may also not provide an accurate picture of their substance use patterns. These same factor also may account for the fairly high percentage of individuals who did not fully complete the questionnaire.


Another limitation of this study is that this study did not examine the possible role that psychiatric factor might play in mediate between substance use and sleep related problems. The role of psychiatric issues warrants further investigation.


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