STRESSFUL LIFE EVENTS AND EEG SLEEP IN DEPRESSED AND NORMAL CONTROL ADOLESCENTS

EEG sleep measures in 35 depressed and 33 normal control adolescents w ere examined in relation to stressful life events occurring in the yea r before sleep studies, There was a significant interaction between st ressful life events and diagnostic status for REM latency and total RE M time, In the normal controls, the presence of stressful life events was significantly associated with reduced REM latency and increased to tal REM time. Among the depressed adolescents, there were no significa nt effects of stressful life events on REM latency or total REM time, The depressed adolescents with no stressful life events (n = 9) had si gnificantly lower REM latency values compared to normal control adoles cents with no stressful life events (n = 13) (61.7 +/- 50.0 vs. 132.1 +/- 79.0, p less than or equal to.01). It appears that stressful life events influence at least some measures of adolescent sleep and should be considered in future controlled studies aimed at understanding sle ep changes in adolescent depression.