Insomnia Following Trauma Tied to Depression, PTSD in Women Service Members

The presence of insomnia following trauma has been linked to depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among women service members, according to study results presented at the 2023 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society, held from June 3 to 7 in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Current research suggests that insomnia may be an independent clinical disorder contributing to the development and severity of depression and PTSD among civilians. Prior studies intended to evaluate mental health symptoms and insomnia among service members, however, are limited by their use of retrospective data, cross-sectional designs, and/or inclusion of mostly men.

For the present study, researchers sought to prospectively explore the potential associations among trauma exposure, mental health symptoms, and insomnia in women service members and veterans. A total of 26,443 current and former women service members from the Millennium Cohort study were analyzed using 2 waves of survey data – time 1 (T1; 2011-2013) and time 2 (T2; 2014-2016).

The researchers evaluated recent traumas (ie, combat experience and sexual trauma) in the previous 3 years; probable insomnia at T1; and probable PTSD and depression at T2.

The researchers found that women who experienced any of the following events had an increased risk for probable insomnia at T1, compared with women who had not recently experienced any of these events:

• Recent sexual assault: odds ratio (OR), 1.68; 95% CI, 1.24-2.10
• Sexual harassment: OR, 1.22; 95% CI, 1.05-1.41
• Combat: OR, 1.34; 95% CI, 1.20-1.49

Additionally, probable insomnia at T1 was related to the following events at T2:

• Probable depression: OR, 2.66; 95% CI, 2.31-3.06
• PTSD: OR, 2.57; 95% CI, 2.27 to 2.90

Recent combat experience, however, did not impact any links between recent sexual trauma with mental health outcomes or insomnia.

“The diagnosis and treatment of posttrauma insomnia during military service should be prioritized to mitigate the development of posttraumatic mental health symptoms,” the researchers explained. “Sleep health in women service members remains an understudied area of research and should also be prioritized,” they concluded.