Accelerometry provides a scalable way to objectively measure sleep patterns in psychiatric research and practice, the authors say<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
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TUESDAY, Oct. 12, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Differences in sleep patterns, which can be objectively measured with wrist-worn accelerometers, are the norm among patients with lifetime psychiatric conditions, according to a study published online Oct. 12 in PLOS Medicine<\/em>.<\/p>\n Michael Wainberg, Ph.D., from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto, and colleagues examined the association of 10 accelerometer-derived sleep measures with inpatient psychiatric diagnoses and polygenic risk scores among 89,205 U.K. Biobank participants. <\/p>\n The researchers found that sleep patterns were observable across diagnoses, with each diagnosis associated with a median of 8.5 of the 10 accelerometer-derived sleep measures. Measures of sleep quality (e.g., sleep efficiency) were generally more affected than sleep duration. Effect sizes were generally small; the largest magnitude effect size across major depressive disorder, anxiety disorders, bipolar disorder\/mania, and schizophrenia spectrum disorders was \u00ce\u00b2 = \u00e2\u0088\u00920.11 for the association between lifetime inpatient major depressive disorder diagnosis and sleep efficiency. Associations were similar across race, ethnicity, and gender. Accelerometry-derived measures corresponded with self-reported sleep properties.<\/p>\n “This work showcases the power of wearable devices to provide fine-grained information about how sleep is disrupted in mental illness,” the authors said in a statement.<\/p>\n