Polysomnographic sleep is not clinically impaired in vietnam combat veterans with chronic posttraumatic stress disorder

• Published in: Biological psychiatry (1969) Vol. 44; no. 10; pp. 1066 - 1073
• Main Authors: Hurwitz, Thomas D, Mahowald, Mark W, Kuskowski, Michael, Engdahl, Brian E
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY Elsevier Inc 15.11.1998; Elsevier Science
• Subjects: Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Anxiety disorders. Neuroses; Biological and medical sciences; Chronic Disease; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Polysomnography; Post-traumatic stress disorder; Posttraumatic stress disorder; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; sleep; Sleep - physiology; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - psychology; United States; Veterans; Vietnam; Vietnam combat veterans; United States; Vietnam; sleep; Vietnam combat veterans; Posttraumatic stress disorder; polysomnography; Human; Electrodiagnosis; Sleep stage; Posttraumatic syndrome; Anxiety disorder; Electrophysiology; Sleep disorder; Electroencephalography; Diagnosis; Veteran; Polysomnography; Stress
• ISSN: 0006-3223; 1873-2402
• DOI: 10.1016/S0006-3223(98)00089-4

Background: Because sleep is typically disturbed in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), this study was undertaken to evaluate a group of Vietnam combat veterans with the disorder using clinical polysomnographic techniques. Methods: Eighteen Vietnam combat veterans with PTSD and 10 healthy non–combat-exposed Vietnam era veterans participated in 2 nights of polysomnographic study and a multiple sleep latency test. Results: No significant differences between subjects and controls were noted except for greater sleep onset latency to stage 2 ( p < .03), and lower arousals/hour from stages 3 & 4 ( p < .04) on night 2, and lower subjectively estimated total sleep time on night 1 ( p < .005) in the case of PTSD subjects. Otherwise, results from the second night served to replicate those from the first, and no significant differences appeared on 2 successive nights for any polysomnographic variable. No daytime hypersomnolence was detected. Conclusions: Polysomnographically recorded sleep was notably better than expected in the presence of clinically significant PTSD with typical histories of disrupted sleep. In these subjects, there is no clinically significant sleep disorder or typical pattern of sleep disturbance detectable by standard polysomnography.