Rates of isolated sleep paralysis in outpatients with anxiety disorders

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2005.07.002Get rights and content

Abstract

Initial research suggests that rates of isolated sleep paralysis (ISP) are elevated in individuals with panic disorder and particularly low in individuals with other anxiety disorders. To further evaluate these findings, we examined rates of ISP in a sample outpatients with primary diagnoses of panic disorder (n = 24), social anxiety disorder (n = 18), or generalized anxiety disorder (n = 18). We obtained an overall rate of ISP of 19.7%; rates for patients with panic disorder (20.8%) fell between those with generalized anxiety disorder (15.8%) and social phobia (22.2%). Analysis of comorbidities failed to provide evidence of link between depressive disorders and ISP, but did indicate a significant association between anxiety comorbidity and higher rates of ISP. Results are discussed relative to other variables predicting variability in the occurrence of ISP.

Section snippets

Participants

Participants for this study were outpatients seeking treatment for a primary diagnosis of panic disorder with or without agoraphobia, social anxiety disorder (generalized type), or generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Individuals completed the evaluations for this study as part of pre-treatment assessment. All participants provided written informed consent approved by the institutional review board. Anxiety diagnoses were assessed by semi-structured interviews with either the Structured Clinical

Results

Sixty-one individuals (44.3% women; mean ± S.D. age = 43 ± 13 years) completed the SEQ, including 24 (39.3%) with a primary diagnosis of panic disorder, 18 (29.5%) with a primary diagnosis of social anxiety disorder, and 19 (31.1%) with a primary diagnosis of GAD. The primary disorder was defined as the disorder accounting for the primary source of distress and disability for the patient and for which the patient was seeking treatment. Comorbidity was high, with 17% of individuals with a primary

Discussion

Overall, we found a near 20% rate of ISP in our sample of outpatients seeking treatment for anxiety disorders, with no significant difference in rates among patients with a primary diagnosis of panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, or GAD in our primarily Caucasian sample. These findings are in contrast to low rates of ISP among those with non-panic anxiety disorders reported by Paradis et al. (1997), particularly for Caucasian subjects. Notably, these rates in the Paradis et al. (1997)

References (26)

  • T.M. Brown et al.

    The sleep architecture of social phobia

    Biological Psychiatry

    (1994)
  • R.J. McNally et al.

    Sleep paralysis in adults reporting repressed, recovered, or continuous memories of childhood sexual abuse

    Journal of Anxiety Disorders

    (2005)
  • S.A. Alfonso Suarez

    Isolated sleep paralysis in patients suffering from panic attacks

    Archives of Neurobiology

    (1991)
  • A. Awadalla et al.

    Comparative prevalence of isolated sleep paralysis in Kumaiti, Sudanese, and American college students

    Psychological Reports

    (2004)
  • J.A. Cheyne

    Situational factors affecting sleep paralysis and associated hallucinations: position and timing effects

    Journal of Sleep Research

    (2002)
  • J.A. Cheyne et al.

    Relations among hypnagogic and hypnopompic experiences associated with sleep paralysis

    Journal of Sleep Research

    (1999)
  • First, M. B., Spitzer, R. L., Gibbon, M., & Williams, J. B. W. (1996). Structured clinical interview for DSM-IV Axis I...
  • K. Fukuda et al.

    High prevalence of isolated sleep paralysis: kanashibari phenomena in Japan

    Sleep

    (1987)
  • P. Gangdev

    Relevance of sleep paralysis and hypnic hallucinations to psychiatry

    Australasian Psychiatry

    (2004)
  • F.L. Hall

    Unique panic disorder presentation: “Ridden by the witch.”

    Clinical Psychiatry News

    (1993)
  • D.E. Hinton et al.

    Culture and sleep paralysis

    Transcultural Psychiatry

    (2005)
  • Y. Hishikawa

    Sleep paralysis

  • Y. Hishikawa et al.

    Physiology of REM sleep, cataplexy and sleep paralysis

  • Cited by (65)

    • Recurrent isolated sleep paralysis

      2023, Encyclopedia of Sleep and Circadian Rhythms: Volume 1-6, Second Edition
    • Parasomnias in children

      2023, Encyclopedia of Sleep and Circadian Rhythms: Volume 1-6, Second Edition
    • A systematic review of variables associated with sleep paralysis

      2018, Sleep Medicine Reviews
      Citation Excerpt :

      Generally, studies that have investigated age differences in sleep paralysis prevalence have found no significant effect of age [17–21]. Similarly for sex differences the majority of studies found no significant effects [17–19,22–27]. Two large-scale surveys of Asian adolescents did find significant sex differences, with higher prevalence in females though the reported differences were very small.

    • Isolated Sleep Paralysis and Affect

      2015, Sleep and Affect: Assessment, Theory, and Clinical Implications
    • Progress on narcolepsy and anxiety

      2023, Chinese Journal of Contemporary Neurology and Neurosurgery
    View all citing articles on Scopus
    View full text