Perinatal sleep disruption and postpartum psychosis in bipolar disorder: Findings from the UK BDRN Pregnancy Study.

BACKGROUND: Women with bipolar disorder (BD) are at high risk of postpartum psychosis (PP). The factors that increase risk of PP among women with BD are not fully understood. Here, we examine whether sleep disruption in the perinatal period (poor sleep quality in late pregnancy and sleep deprivation related to childbirth) is associated with PP in a longitudinal study of pregnant women with BD. METHODS: Participants were 76 pregnant women with lifetime DSM-5 bipolar I disorder or schizoaffective-BD, followed from week 12 of pregnancy to 12 weeks postpartum. Demographics and lifetime psychopathology were assessed at baseline via semi-structured interview (Schedules for Clinical Assessment in Neuropsychiatry). Psychopathology and sleep disruption within the current perinatal period were assessed in the third trimester and at 12 weeks postpartum. Data were supplemented by clinician questionnaires and case-note review. RESULTS: After controlling for prophylactic use of mood stabilising medication, the loss of at least one complete night of sleep across labour/delivery was associated with five times the odds of experiencing PP compared to no or less than one night of sleep loss across labour/delivery (OR 5.19, 95 % CI 1.45-18.54; p = 0.011). Sleep quality in late pregnancy was not associated with PP, and perinatal sleep disruption was not associated with postpartum depression. LIMITATIONS: Lack of objective measures of sleep factors. CONCLUSIONS: In the context of other aetiological factors, severe sleep loss associated with childbirth/the immediate postpartum may act as a final trigger of PP. These findings could have important clinical implications for risk prediction and prevention of PP.

The dynamic interplay between sleep and mood: an intensive longitudinal study of individuals with bipolar disorder.

BACKGROUND: Sleep disturbances are important symptoms to monitor in people with bipolar disorder (BD) but the precise longitudinal relationships between sleep and mood remain unclear. We aimed to examine associations between stable and dynamic aspects of sleep and mood in people with BD, and assess individual differences in the strength of these associations. METHODS: Participants (N = 649) with BD-I (N = 400) and BD-II (N = 249) provided weekly self-reports of insomnia, depression and (hypo)mania symptoms using the True Colours online monitoring tool for 21 months. Dynamic structural equation models were used to examine the interplay between weekly reports of insomnia and mood. The effects of clinical and demographic characteristics on associations were also assessed. RESULTS: Increased variability in insomnia symptoms was associated with increased mood variability. In the sample as a whole, we found strong evidence of bidirectional relationships between insomnia and depressive symptoms but only weak support for bidirectional relationships between insomnia and (hypo)manic symptoms. We found substantial variability between participants in the strength of prospective associations between insomnia and mood, which depended on age, gender, bipolar subtype, and a history of rapid cycling. CONCLUSIONS: Our results highlight the importance of monitoring sleep in people with BD. However, researchers and clinicians investigating the association between sleep and mood should consider subgroup differences in this relationship. Advances in digital technology mean that intensive longitudinal data on sleep and mood are becoming increasingly available. Novel methods to analyse these data present an exciting opportunity for furthering our understanding of BD.