Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 15, 2026
04:33
Association Between Sleep Quality and Cognitive Symptoms in Patients with Major Depressive Disorder
Published on: April 26, 2024
Association between objective sleep structure and suicidal ideation in patients with depression: a study based on
Renyun Zhang1,2, Limin Yang1, Xiaohua Yang1,2
1Shandong Mental Health Center, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, China.
Frontiers in Psychiatry
|July 14, 2026
Summary
Depression severity is linked to suicidal ideation (SI). Objective sleep patterns, analyzed via polysomnography (PSG), can help stratify SI risk in patients with depression, but further validation is needed.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychiatry
- Sleep Medicine
Background:
- Depression is a prevalent mental disorder with suicidal ideation (SI) as a critical symptom.
- Sleep disturbances are common in depression, yet the link between objective sleep architecture and current SI is not well understood.
- This study investigates the association between objective sleep patterns and current SI in depressive disorder patients.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the relationship between objective sleep structure and current suicidal ideation (SI) in patients with depressive disorder.
- To explore the potential of sleep-clinical clustering to stratify patients based on SI.
- To determine if polysomnography (PSG)-derived sleep characteristics offer insights beyond general depression severity.
Main Methods:
- 287 patients with depressive disorder underwent clinical assessment and overnight polysomnography (PSG).
- Current SI was assessed using the HAMD-17 scale; logistic regression identified associated factors.
- K-Means clustering (K=3) was performed using sleep and clinical variables; cluster validation and sensitivity analyses were conducted.
Main Results:
- 50.52% of patients reported current SI.
- In regression models, only HAMD total score was independently associated with SI.
- Cluster analysis revealed three distinct subgroups with varying SI rates: deep-sleep dominant (37.04%), high-arousal-apnea (70.37%), and low-arousal-insomnia (60.80%).
- Clusters 2 and 3 (high-arousal-apnea and low-arousal-insomnia) were significantly associated with current SI (OR=3.152, p<0.001).
Conclusions:
- Depression severity is the primary correlate of current SI.
- PSG-derived sleep-clinical clusters may aid in characterizing heterogeneous SI presentations in depression.
- The incremental value of these clusters beyond depression severity requires further investigation and validation in larger, longitudinal studies.
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