Insomnia, self-medication, and relapse to alcoholism

Objective: This study was an investigation of the frequencies of insomnia a nd its self-medication with alcohol in a group of alcoholic patients, as we ll as the relationship of these variables to alcoholic relapse. Method: The subjects were 172 men and women receiving treatment for alcohol dependence. They completed a sleep questionnaire, measures of alcohol prob lem severity and depression severity, and polysomnography after at least 2 weeks of abstinence. Results: On the basis of eight items from the Sleep Disorders Questionnaire , 61% of the subjects were classified as having symptomatic insomnia during the 6 months before treatment entry. Compared to patients without insomnia , patients with insomnia were more likely to report frequent alcohol use fo r sleep (55% versus 28%), had significantly worse polysomnographic measures of sleep continuity, and had more severe alcohol dependence and depression . Among 74 alcoholics who were followed a mean of 5 months after treatment, 60% with baseline insomnia versus 30% without baseline insomnia relapsed t o any use of alcohol, a significant difference. Insomnia remained a robust predictor of relapse after application of logistic regression analysis to c ontrol for other variables. A history of self-medicating insomnia with alco hol did not significantly predict subsequent relapse. Conclusions: The majority of alcoholic patients entering treatment reported insomnia symptoms. Given the potential link between insomnia and relapse, routine questions about sleep in clinical and research settings are warrant ed.