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Sleep, psychological distress, and stress arousal in women with fibromyalgia
Author(s) -
Shaver Joan L. F.,
Lentz Martha,
Landis Carol A.,
Heitkemper Margaret M.,
Buchwald Dedra S.,
Woods Nancy F.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
research in nursing and health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.836
H-Index - 85
eISSN - 1098-240X
pISSN - 0160-6891
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1098-240x(199706)20:3<247::aid-nur7>3.0.co;2-i
Subject(s) - fibromyalgia , non rapid eye movement sleep , arousal , sleep (system call) , psychology , sleep disorder , distress , sleep stages , polysomnography , medicine , clinical psychology , audiology , insomnia , psychiatry , electroencephalography , neuroscience , computer science , operating system
The purpose of this investigation was to compare self‐reported sleep quality and psychological distress, as well as somnographic sleep and physiological stress arousal, in women recruited from the community with self‐reported medically diagnosed fibromyalgia (FM) to women without somatic symptoms. Eleven midlife women with FM, when compared to 11 asymptomatic women, reported poorer sleep quality and higher SCL‐90 psychological distress scores. Women with FM also had more early night transitional sleep (stage 1) ( p < 0.01), more sleep stage changes ( p < 0.03) and a higher sleep fragmentation index ( p < 0.03), but did not differ in α‐EEG‐NREM activity (a marker believed to accompany FM). No physiological stress arousal differences were evident. Less stable sleep in the early night supports a postulate that nighttime hormone (e.g., growth hormone) disturbance is an eitiologic factor but, contrary to several literature assertions, α‐EEG‐NREM activity sleep does not appear to be a specific marker of FM. Further study of mechanisms is needed to guide treatment options. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Res Nurs Health 20: 247–257, 1997