Does early identification and treatment of sleep problems
bolster psychiatric therapeutic outcome?

Sleep is important for physical health, cognitive functioning and quality of
life. The last decennia it has become clear that proper sleep is also crucial
for mental health and the recovery of psychiatric disorders. In addition, sleep
disorders are more prevalent in individuals with psychiatric disorders then in
the general population. Prevalence of insomnia is, for instance, estimated at
30-80% in the psychiatric population. Unfortunately, in psychiatric care, sleep
disorders are often poorly recognized and treatment often occurs late or not at
all. Therefore, early detection and treatment of sleep disorders in psychiatric
populations is of crucial importance for the improvement of care for these
complex patients.

The major aim of the proposed project is to investigate the clinical relevance
of early identification and adequate treatment of co-occurring sleep disorders
in people suffering from mental disorders. The main questions underlying the
present project proposal are: 1) What is the prevalence of the different sleep
disorders in the GGZ Drenthe population? 2) Does screening for and early
treatment of sleep disorders exert positive effects on the psychiatric outcome
(symptom severity/treament response/remission of mental diseases) and quality
of life? 3) Does the impact of sleep treatment vary between the different
mental disorders?

The prevalence of sleep disorders will be assessed in the GGZ Drenthe
population by means of a screenings questionnaire (HSDQ). Using a randomized
waiting-list control design, the effects of sleep disorder treatment on
psychiatric well being will be assessed in those individuals who screened
positive for a sleep disorder.

Individuals screening positive for a sleep disorder will, either immediately or
after a 6 month waiting period, receive extensive sleep disorder diagnosis, and
subsequent sleep disorder treatment according to the standard of care for their
specific sleep disorder, optimized for the psychiatric population,

The burden of this research project consists of filling out four
questionnaires. Filling out the questionnaires takes about 20-25 minutes. For
those patients that screen positive for a sleep disorder, there is an
additional burden of participation in the diagnostic process and treatment of
their sleep disorder and of filling out the questionnaires at two additional
occasions(6 and 12 months. However, this burden is likely outweighed by the
benefit of reduction of disordered sleep after treatment. Since only well
established non-invasive treatments are employed the risks of treatment, and
thereby this study, are negligible. Furthermore, the study potentially has
large benefits for the participating patient.