Do sleep disturbances in depressed adolescents improve following psychological treatment for depression?

Background: Persistent sleep disturbances are one of the most common symptoms of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) in adolescence. These are not typically targeted in psychological treatments and it is not known if psychological treatment for depression improves sleep. Methods: Secondary analyses were conducted using data from a large, multi-centre, randomised controlled trial (Goodyer et al., 2017b). Young people aged 12–18 years (N = 465; 75% female) met diagnostic criteria for Major Depressive Disorder, based on the Kiddie-Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (K-SADS). They were randomised to one of three psychological treatments. Sleep difficulties were assessed at baseline, post-treatment (36 weeks) and one year follow up (86 weeks) with the K-SADS, and the Mood and Feelings Questionnaire (MFQ). Results: At baseline, 92% of young people exhibited clinically significant sleep difficulties. Exploratory analyses suggest that sleep difficulties significantly decreased from baseline to end of treatment on self-report and interview-based measures, and this decrease was maintained at follow up. Reduction in sleep difficulties did not differ between the psychological treatments. Approximately, half of young people reported residual sleep difficulties at the end of treatment and at follow-up. Limitations: This paper reports secondary data analyses and findings are exploratory. Conclusions: Tentative results suggest that psychological treatments for depression reduced sleep problems for some participants. However, young people with treatment-resistant sleep problems may benefit from adjunctive sleep interventions. Future work with a range of sleep measures is needed to determine those who have residual sleep problems at the end of treatment and post-treatment follow-up.