Reducing Suicidal Ideation Through Insomnia Treatment

Summary

Epidemiologic reports have linked insomnia to suicidal ideation and suicide death. However, no studies have determined whether treating insomnia decreases the risk of suicidality. We have new data indicating that (1) the link between insomnia and suicidal ideation holds true in clinical trials of depressed insomniacs, (2) dysfunctional cognitions about sleep are related to suicidal ideas, and (3) treatment of insomnia with hypnotics leads to a reduction of suicidal ideation. We now propose to test whether cautious use of hypnotics in suicidal, depressed insomniacs may reduce suicide risk in a multi-site clinical trial.

Timeline

Start

2012-12-06

Primary completion

2017-06

Completion

2018-01-01

Publications

• McCall WV, Mercado K, Dzurny TN, McCloud LL, Krystal AD, Benca RM, Rosenquist PB, Looney SW. Insomnia and the effect of zolpidem-extended-release on the sleep items of the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression in outpatients with depression, insomnia, and suicidal ideation: Relationship to patient age. J Psychopharmacol. 2024 Sep;38(9):827-831. doi: 10.1177/02698811241268900. Epub 2024 Aug 9.
• Witt KG, Hetrick SE, Rajaram G, Hazell P, Taylor Salisbury TL, Townsend E, Hawton K. Psychosocial interventions for self-harm in adults. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2021 Apr 22;4(4):CD013668. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD013668.pub2.
• McCall WV, Benca RM, Rumble ME, Krystal AD. Blinding and bias in a hypnotic clinical trial. Hum Psychopharmacol. 2021 Jan;36(1):1-5. doi: 10.1002/hup.2757. Epub 2020 Sep 11.
• Rumble ME, McCall WV, Dickson DA, Krystal AD, Rosenquist PB, Benca RM. An exploratory analysis of the association of circadian rhythm dysregulation and insomnia with suicidal ideation over the course of treatment in individuals with depression, insomnia, and suicidal ideation. J Clin Sleep Med. 2020 Aug 15;16(8):1311-1319. doi: 10.5664/jcsm.8508.
• McCall WV, Benca RM, Rosenquist PB, Youssef NA, McCloud L, Newman JC, Case D, Rumble ME, Szabo ST, Phillips M, Krystal AD. Reducing Suicidal Ideation Through Insomnia Treatment (REST-IT): A Randomized Clinical Trial. Am J Psychiatry. 2019 Nov 1;176(11):957-965. doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2019.19030267. Epub 2019 Sep 20.
• McCall WV, Benca RM, Rumble ME, Case D, Rosenquist PB, Krystal AD. Prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea in suicidal patients with major depressive disorder. J Psychiatr Res. 2019 Sep;116:147-150. doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2019.06.015. Epub 2019 Jun 19.

Drugs

Indications