[A review of sleep disorders in depression]. / Una revisión de las alteraciones del sueño en la depresión.

AIMS: The main aims of this study are, on the one hand, to report on the current state of the art in research into the characteristics of sleep in depression and, on the other hand, to analyse the theoretical and practical implications of these results. METHOD: We review the main findings regarding the sleep disorders linked with depression and offer data about the sensitivity and specificity of these measures. The aetiopathogenic meaning of these sleep disorders is also analysed and finally we present some of the principal theoretical models put forward to explain these data. CONCLUSIONS: A number of studies have observed significant alterations in electroencephalographic patterns during sleep in subjects with depression. Some of the most commonly mentioned findings involve disorders affecting the continuity and duration of sleep, a reduction of phases 3 and 4 of sleep, lowered latency in REM (rapid eye movements) sleep, and a longer and more intense first period of REM. This technique is presently of limited use as a diagnostic tool in depression. The pathophysiological mechanisms governing sleep disorders in depression are not yet known, but sleep studies still play an important role in research into depression, especially in areas concerning the prediction of responses to treatment, the prognosis of relapses, longitudinal results, familial studies and in research into aetiological models

Una revisión de las alteraciones del sueño en la depresión / A review of sleep disorders in depression

Objetivos. Los principales objetivos de este trabajo son, por una parte, presentar el estado actual de la investigación sobre las características del sueño en la depresión y, por otra, analizar las implicaciones teóricas y prácticas de estos resultados. Desarrollo. Se revisan los principales hallazgos relacionados con las alteraciones del sueño asociadas a la depresión, al tiempo que se aportan datos acerca de la sensibilidad y especificidad de estas medidas, se analiza el significado etiopatogénico de estas alteraciones del sueño y, finalmente, se presentan algunos de los principales modelos teóricos propuestos para explicar estos datos. Conclusiones . Numerosos estudios han constatado alteraciones significativas del patrón electroencefalográfico del sueño en sujetos con depresión. Entre los principales hallazgos se citan alteraciones en la continuidad y duración del sueño, disminución de las fases 3 y 4 del sueño, menor latencia del sueño REM (del inglés, rapid eye movements) y mayor duración y densidad del primer período REM. Esta técnica tiene actualmente una utilidad limitada como herramienta diagnóstica en la depresión. Aún no se conocen los mecanismos fisiopatológicos de las alteraciones del sueño en la depresión; sin embargo, los estudios del sueño continúan teniendo un importante papel en la investigación de la depresión, particularmente en las áreas de predicción de respuesta a tratamientos, pronóstico de recaídas, resultados longitudinales, estudios familiares e investigación de modelos etiológicos (AU)

Aims. The main aims of this study are, on the one hand, to report on the current state-of-the-art in research into the characteristics of sleep in depression and, on the other hand, to analyse the theoretical and practical implications of these results. Method. We review the main findings regarding the sleep disorders linked with depression and offer data about the sensitivity and specificity of these measures. The aetiopathogenic meaning of these sleep disorders is also analysed and finally we present some of the principal theoretical models put forward to explain these data. Conclusions. A number of studies have observed significant alterations in electroencephalographic patterns during sleep in subjects with depression. Some of the most commonly mentioned findings involve disorders affecting the continuity and duration of sleep, a reduction of phases 3 and 4 of sleep, lowered latency in REM (rapid eye movements) sleep, and a longer and more intense first period of REM. This technique is presently of limited use as a diagnostic tool in depression. The pathophysiological mechanisms governing sleep disorders in depression are not yet known, but sleep studies still play an important role in research into depression, especially in areas concerning the prediction of responses to treatment, the prognosis of relapses, longitudinal results, familial studies and in research into aetiological models (AU)