Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders: Bastien C

Bélanger L, Morin CM, Bastien C, Ladouceur R. · Ecole de Psychologie, Université Laval, Québec, Canada. · Health Psychol. · Pubmed #15898864 No free full text.

Abstract: Better understanding of compliance with BZD taper is warranted. Compliance with a taper program and perceived self-efficacy (SE) in being able to comply with hypnotic reduction goals was monitored weekly in 52 older adults (mean age: 63.0 years) with chronic insomnia (average duration: 21.9 years) who underwent a 10-week physician-supervised medication tapering. One group received cognitive- behavior therapy for insomnia during discontinuation, whereas the other did not. Compliant patients showed higher SE ratings at Weeks 6, 8, 9, and 10. Medication-free patients at the end of the treatment also reported higher mean SE ratings at those 4 weeks. Differences remained significant when withdrawal symptoms and sleep efficiency were controlled for. These results have important clinical implications because SE may indicate key time points when patients are experiencing more difficulty during discontinuation.

Morin CM, Bastien C, Guay B, Radouco-Thomas M, Leblanc J, Vallières A. · Ecole de Psychologie, Université Laval, Sainte-Foy, Québec, Canada. · Am J Psychiatry. · Pubmed #14754783 links to  free full text

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: This study evaluated the effectiveness of a supervised benzodiazepine taper, singly and combined with cognitive behavior therapy, for benzodiazepine discontinuation in older adults with chronic insomnia. METHOD: Seventy-six older adult outpatients (38 women, 38 men; mean age of 62.5 years) with chronic insomnia and prolonged use (mean duration of 19.3 years) of benzodiazepine medication for sleep were randomly assigned for a 10-week intervention consisting of a supervised benzodiazepine withdrawal program (N=25), cognitive behavior therapy for insomnia (N=24), or supervised withdrawal plus cognitive behavior therapy (N=27). Follow-up assessments were conducted at 3 and 12 months. The main outcome measures were benzodiazepine use, sleep parameters, and anxiety and depressive symptoms. RESULTS: All three interventions produced significant reductions in both the quantity (90% reduction) and frequency (80% reduction) of benzodiazepine use, and 63% of the patients were drug-free within an average of 7 weeks. More patients who received medication taper plus cognitive behavior therapy (85%) were benzodiazepine-free after the initial intervention, compared to those who received medication taper alone (48%) and cognitive behavior therapy alone (54%). The patients in the two groups that received cognitive behavior therapy perceived greater subjective sleep improvements than those who received medication taper alone. Polysomnographic data showed an increase in the amount of time spent in stages 3 and 4 sleep and REM sleep and a decrease in total sleep time across all three conditions from baseline to posttreatment. Initial benzodiazepine reductions were well maintained up to the 12-month follow-up, and sleep improvements became more noticeable over this period. No significant withdrawal symptoms or adverse events were associated with benzodiazepine tapering. CONCLUSIONS: A structured, time-limited intervention is effective in assisting chronic users of benzodiazepine medication to discontinue or reduce their use of medication. The addition of cognitive behavior therapy alleviates insomnia, but sleep improvements may become noticeable only after several months of benzodiazepine abstinence.

Morin CM, Vallières A, Guay B, Ivers H, Savard J, Mérette C, Bastien C, Baillargeon L. · Université Laval, Ecole de Psychologie, Pavillon F A S, Québec, Québec, Canada G1K 0A6. · JAMA. · Pubmed #19454639 No free full text.

Abstract: CONTEXT: Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and hypnotic medications are efficacious for short-term treatment of insomnia, but few patients achieve complete remission with any single treatment. It is unclear whether combined or maintenance therapies would enhance outcome. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the added value of medication over CBT alone for acute treatment of insomnia and the effects of maintenance therapies on long-term outcome. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PATIENTS: Prospective, randomized controlled trial involving 2-stage therapy for 160 adults with persistent insomnia treated at a university hospital sleep center in Canada between January 2002 and April 2005. INTERVENTIONS: Participants received CBT alone or CBT plus 10 mg/d (taken at bedtime) of zolpidem for an initial 6-week therapy, followed by extended 6-month therapy. Patients initially treated with CBT attended monthly maintenance CBT for 6 months or received no additional treatment and those initially treated with combined therapy (CBT plus 10 mg/d of zolpidem) continued with CBT plus intermittent use of zolpidem or CBT only. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Sleep onset latency, time awake after sleep onset, total sleep time, and sleep efficiency derived from daily diaries (primary outcomes); treatment response and remission rates derived from the Insomnia Severity Index (secondary outcomes). RESULTS: Cognitive behavioral therapy used singly or in combination with zolpidem produced significant improvements in sleep latency, time awake after sleep onset, and sleep efficiency during initial therapy (all P<.001); a larger increase of sleep time was obtained with the combined approach (P = .04). Both CBT alone and CBT plus zolpidem produced similar rates of treatment responders (60% [45/75] vs 61% [45/74], respectively; P = .84) and treatment remissions (39% [29/75] vs 44% [33/74], respectively; P = .52) with the 6-week acute treatment, but combined therapy produced a higher remission rate compared with CBT alone during the 6-month extended therapy phase and the 6-month follow-up period (56% [43/74 and 32/59] vs 43% [34/75 and 28/68]; P = .05). The best long-term outcome was obtained with patients treated with combined therapy initially, followed by CBT alone, as evidenced by higher remission rates at the 6-month follow-up compared with patients who continued to take zolpidem during extended therapy (68% [20/30] vs 42% [12/29]; P = .04). CONCLUSION: In patients with persistent insomnia, the addition of medication to CBT produced added benefits during acute therapy, but long-term outcome was optimized when medication is discontinued during maintenance CBT. TRIAL REGISTRATION: clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00042146.

Morin CM, Koetter U, Bastien C, Ware JC, Wooten V. · Université Laval, Ecole de Psychologie, Sainte-Foy, Quebec, Canada. · Sleep. · Pubmed #16335333 No free full text.

Abstract: CONTEXT: Insomnia is a prevalent health complaint associated with daytime impairments, reduced quality of life, and increased health-care costs. Although it is often self-treated with herbal and dietary supplements or with over-the-counter sleep aids, there is still little evidence on the efficacy and safety of those products. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of a valerian-hops combination and diphenhydramine for the treatment of mild insomnia. DESIGN AND SETTING: Multicenter, randomized, placebo-controlled, parallel-group study conducted in 9 sleep disorders centers throughout the United States. PATIENTS: A total of 184 adults (110 women, 74 men; mean age of 44.3 years) with mild insomnia. INTERVENTIONS: (1) Two nightly tablets of standardized extracts of a valerian (187-mg native extracts; 5-8:1, methanol 45% m/m) and hops (41.9-mg native extracts; 7-10:1, methanol 45% m/m) combination for 28 days (n = 59), (2) placebo for 28 days (n = 65), or (3) 2 tablets of diphenhydramine (25 mg) for 14 days followed by placebo for 14 days (n = 60). OUTCOME MEASURES: Sleep parameters measured by daily diaries and polysomnography, clinical outcome ratings from patients and physicians, and quality of life measures. RESULTS: Modest improvements of subjective sleep parameters were obtained with both the valerian-hops combination and diphenhydramine, but few group comparisons with placebo reached statistical significance. Valerian produced slightly greater, though nonsignificant, reductions of sleep latency relative to placebo and diphenhydramine at the end of 14 days of treatment and greater reductions than placebo at the end of 28 days of treatment. Diphenhydramine produced significantly greater increases in sleep efficiency and a trend for increased total sleep time relative to placebo during the first 14 days of treatment. There was no significant group difference on any of the sleep continuity variables measured by polysomnography. In addition, there was no alteration of sleep stages 3-4 and rapid eye movement sleep with any of the treatments. Patients in the valerian and diphenhydramine groups rated their insomnia severity lower relative to placebo at the end of 14 days of treatment. Quality of life (Physical component) was significantly more improved in the valerian-hops group relative to the placebo group at the end of 28 days. There were no significant residual effects and no serious adverse events with either valerian or diphenhydramine and no rebound insomnia following their discontinuation. CONCLUSIONS: The findings show a modest hypnotic effect for a valerian-hops combination and diphenhydramine relative to placebo. Sleep improvements with a valerian-hops combination are associated with improved quality of life. Both treatments appear safe and did not produce rebound insomnia upon discontinuation during this study. Overall, these findings indicate that a valerian-hops combination and diphenhydramine might be useful adjuncts in the treatment of mild insomnia.

Bouchard S, Bastien C, Morin CM. · Ecole de Psychologie, Université Laval, Quebec, Canada. · Behav Sleep Med. · Pubmed #15600214 No free full text.

Abstract: This study describes a self-efficacy (SE) scale and examines its usefulness in predicting adherence to cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) of insomnia. The SE scale, which included three subscales (global, task-related, and self-regulation), was administered to 39 patients receiving CBT for primary insomnia. Participants'daily sleep diaries were used to estimate their adherence to treatment. The results showed that the SE scale has adequate psychometric properties. Treatment adherence increased from Week 2 to Week 7 and decreased during the week following the last therapy session. In general, the global self-efficacy measure was more strongly associated with adherence during the first week of treatment, whereas the task-related efficacy was more strongly associated with adherence behaviors from Weeks 4 to 8. These findings suggest that self-efficacy perceptions are useful in predicting adherence to CBT of insomnia.

Morin CM, Bélanger L, Bastien C, Vallières A. · Ecole de Psychologie, Université Laval, Quebec City, Que., Canada G1K 7P4. · Behav Res Ther. · Pubmed #15531349 No free full text.

Abstract: Discontinuation of benzodiazepine (BZD) treatment for insomnia can be a difficult task. Cognitive-behavior therapy (CBT) for insomnia, combined with a supervised medication taper, can facilitate withdrawal but there is limited evidence on long-term outcome after discontinuation. The objective of this study was to examine medication-free survival time and predictors of relapse (i.e., resumed BZD hypnotics) over a 2-year period in 47 older adults (mean age 62.1 years) with persistent insomnia and prolonged BZD use (average duration of 18.9 years), who had successfully discontinued BZD following CBT for insomnia, a supervised medication taper program, or a combined approach. The Kaplan-Meier product-limit method was used to estimate survival time, defined as time between end-of-treatment and relapse or end of follow-up. By the end of the 24-month follow-up, 42.6% of the samples had resumed BZD use. Participants in the Combined (33.3%) and Taper (30.8%) groups relapsed significantly less than their counterparts from the CBT group (69.2%). Survival rates at 3 months were 61.5% (CBT), 100% (Taper), and 80.9% (Combined). At 12 months, they were 38.5%, 83.3%, and 70.8%, respectively; and, at 24 months, they were 28.9%, 64.8% and 64.9%, respectively. Mean survival time was significantly longer for both the Taper (18.6 months, SE = 2.1) and Combined groups (12.6 months, SE = 1.4), relative to the CBT group (8.5 months, SE = 1.8). Significant predictors of relapse included treatment condition, end of treatment insomnia severity, and psychological distress. In conclusion, there is a substantial relapse rate following BZD discontinuation among prolonged users. CBT booster sessions might enhance compliance with CBT and prove useful in preventing relapse.