To assess the association of insomnia symptoms and psychiatric symptoms in patients with spinal cord injury or disease (SCI/D).

In this cross-sectional observational study, Veterans with SCI/D (N =72; mean = 59.85±10.4 years; 92% male) completed baseline measures including the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) during the baseline phase of a clinical trial on treatment of sleep disorders in veterans with SCI/D. Depression severity was measured by the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9; sleep items excluded), anxiety severity was measured by the Generalized Anxiety Disorder screener (GAD-7) and probable posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was measured by the Primary Care PTSD screener (PC-PTSD-5 ≥3). Blocked regression was used to evaluate the impact of insomnia symptoms (ISI) on mental health measures after accounting for demographics and level of spinal cord injury/disease.

On average, participants scored in the mild range for depression (PHQ-9 =7.4±5.9) and anxiety severity (GAD-7 =6.1±6.1). In total, 36.1% (n =26) screened positive for probable PTSD. ISI explained 19% of the variance in PHQ-9 and 20% of the variance in GAD-7 (p’s <.001) over and above demographics and SCI/D level of injury/disease. Odds of probable PTSD were increased 1.22-fold for each 1 unit increase in ISI (p =.001) after accounting for demographics and level of injury/disease.

In veterans with SCI/D, insomnia severity was linked to depression and anxiety symptom severity and risk of PTSD. Study results warrant further research to evaluate the impact of insomnia treatment on depression, anxiety, and PTSD in patients with SCI/D.

Registry: ClinicalTrials.gov; Name: Treatment of Sleep-disordered Breathing in Patients With SCI; URL: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02830074; Identifier: NCT02830074