Nightmare in schizophrenic and depressed patients
The European Journal of Psychiatry September 1, 2009 DOI: 10.4321/s0213-61632009000300006 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Cross-sectional comparative study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 217 |
| Population | 94 randomly selected psychiatric patients (54 with schizophrenia, 40 with depression) and 123 age- and sex-matched healthy control subjects |
| Duration | One-year prevalence period |
| Topics | Dreaming |
| Citations | 34 |
| Key findings | Nightmare prevalence was higher among psychiatric patients (17% overall; 16.7% in schizophrenia, 17.5% in depression) than in healthy controls (4.9%), and affected patients reported more episodes per year (means 42.7 and 44.6) than affected controls (18). The authors conclude this supports a significant association between nightmares and psychopathology. |
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Nightmare is a common sleep disorder.While a sleep disorder such as insomnia can readily be associated with psychiatric disorders, the same cannot be said of nightmare.The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence rate of nightmare in a sample of psychiatric patients, and to compare this rate with the rate obtained in age-and sex-matched healthy control subjects in order to determine if there is a significant difference in the rates of nightmare in the different groups.Methods: Ninety -four randomly selected psychiatric patients made up of 54 schizophrenic patients and 40 depressed patients were recruited into the study.One hundred and twenty -three age-and sex-matched randomly selected control subjects were also recruited into the study.A questionnaire determining the one year prevalence of nightmare was administered to all the subjects.Each of them was required to indicate whether he or she had experienced nightmare in the previous one year and if so to indicate the number of episodes experienced during the said period. Results:The results showed prevalent rates of nightmare of 4.9%, 16.7% and 17.5% respectively for the healthy control subjects, schizophrenic patients and depressed patients.There was an overall prevalence rate of 17% among the psychiatric patients (schizophrenic patients and depressed patients) as against 4.9% in the healthy control subjects.Among those who experienced nightmare, the mean values for the number of episodes within the previous one year were, respectively 18 (sd = 6.6) for healthy control subjects (n = 6), 42.7 (sd = 6.3) for schizophrenic patients (n = 9) and 44.6 (sd = 5.9) for depressed patients (n = 7). Conclusions:The findings in this study provide support for a significant association between nightmare and schizophrenia as well as nightmare and depressive illness.In effect, there is a significant association between nightmare and psychopathology.
Comparable studies
Other cross-sectional and survey studies on dreaming, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Insomnia Symptoms, Nightmares, and Suicidal Ideation in a College Student Sample Undergraduate students at a large, public university in the southeastern United States | 2011 | Observational cross-sectional survey | n = 583 |
| Prevalence and Correlates of Frequent Nightmares: A Community-Based 2-Phase Study Middle-aged Hong Kong Chinese adults from the community, mean age 40.9 years (SD 5.5,... | 2010 | Cross-sectional survey with subsequent clinical evaluation (two-phase design) | n = 8,558 |
| Factors of home dream recall: a structural equation model Adults (general population sample) | 2003 | Cross-sectional survey with structural equation modeling | n = 444 |
| The Phenomenology of Lucid Dreaming: An Online Survey Respondents to an online survey about lucid dreams | 2014 | Online survey | n = 684 |
| Frequency of Lucid Dreaming in a Representative German Sample Representative sample of German adults | 2011 | Cross-sectional survey | n = 919 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 17
- Prevalence of Nightmare Disorder in Psychiatric Outpatients Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics 2013
- Psychosis and the Control of Lucid Dreaming Frontiers in Psychology March 8, 2016
- The effectiveness of lucid dreaming therapy in patients with nightmares: A systematic review. L'Encephale October 1, 2023
- Continuity between waking life and dreams of psychiatric patients A review and discussion of the implications for dream research University Library Heidelberg 2014
- Sleep, Nightmares and Schizophrenia Journal of Sleep Disorders and Management November 3, 2017
and 12 more in the library