Sensitivity and Specificity of Polysomnographic Criteria for Defining Insomnia

In recent years, polysomnography-based eligibility criteria have been increasingly used to identify candidates for insomnia research, and this has been particularly true of studies evaluating pharmacologic therapy for primary insomnia. However, the sensitivity and specificity of PSG for identifying individuals with insomnia is unknown, and there is no consensus on the criteria sets which should be used for participant selection. In the current study, an archival data set was used to test the sensitivity and specificity of PSG measures for identifying individuals with primary insomnia in both home and lab settings. We then evaluated the sensitivity and specificity of the eligibility criteria employed in a number of recent insomnia trials for identifying primary insomnia sufferers in our sample.