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Sleep paralysis among Cambodian refugees: association with PTSD diagnosis and severity.

Devon E Hinton, Vuth Pich, Dara Chhean, Mark H Pollack, Richard J McNally

Depression and Anxiety 2005 DOI: 10.1002/da.20084 (opens in new tab)

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Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Cross-sectional survey Peer reviewed
Sample size 100
Population Cambodian refugees attending a psychiatric clinic
Duration 12-month recall period for sleep paralysis; 1-month prevalence reported
Topics Anxiety PTSD
Keywords Humans Hallucinations Sleep paralysis Spirituality Stress disorders, post-traumatic Comorbidity Adult Middle aged Refugees Massachusetts Cambodia Female Surveys and questionnaires
Key findings Sleep paralysis was common among Cambodian refugees and strongly associated with PTSD: 65% of PTSD patients had monthly episodes versus about 15% of non-PTSD patients, and PTSD severity correlated with recent sleep paralysis frequency. Most episodes involved hallucinating an approaching figure, and associated panic attacks were frequent. The authors argue sleep paralysis is a core aspect of the trauma response and should be assessed clinically.

Abstract

Among Cambodian refugees attending a psychiatric clinic (n=100), 49% (49/100) had at least one episode of sleep paralysis (SP) in the previous 12 months. The annual and monthly SP prevalences were much higher in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than in non-PTSD patients. Among the PTSD patients, 65% (30/46) had monthly episodes of SP versus 14.85% (8/54) among non-PTSD patients (chi2[2, n=100]=26.78, P<.001). Moreover, patients with SP in the last month (n=30) versus those without SP had much higher PTSD severity scores. In the entire sample (n=100), the PTSD severity scores correlated significantly with the rate of SP in the last month. During SP, Cambodian refugees usually hallucinated an approaching figure (90%, 44/49). The rate of SP-associated and post-SP panic attacks was high, indicating the great distress caused by the phenomenon. SP seems to be a core aspect of the Cambodian refugee's response to trauma. When treating Cambodian refugees, and traumatized refugees in general, clinicians should assess for its presence.

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