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Previous research has suggested that personality can influence the perception and reporting of physical symptoms, such as pain. To assess the relationship between the course of nonorganic neck pain and the individual’s personality, we studied the association between two indicators of neck pain prognosis, such as the duration of sick leave associated with neck pain and sick leave recurrence, and 15 personality traits in a sample of 64 workers suffering from disabling neck pain without any signs of physical abnormalities in the neck area. The TEA Personality Test (TPT), a selfreport instrument designed to evaluate personality traits related to organizational behaviors, was used. Compared to the normative data, the study sample obtained high scores in the Depression, Anxiety and Emotional Instability scales, thus suggesting a personality profile primarily characterized by high neuroticism-related scores. Controlling for age, gender, and any rehabilitation undergone, we found a positive relationship between Depression and the duration of sick leave (in weeks). Moreover, lower scores on the TPT personality trait Dynamism and activeness were associated with higher likelihood of sick leave recurrence. These findings highlight the need for further research into the role played by personality at the onset and in the maintenance of nonorganic neck pain. Furthermore, they suggest that a complementary psychological approach may be useful to nonorganic neck pain management (AU)

Diversos estudios de investigación sugieren que la personalidad se relaciona con la percepción y quejas de síntomas físicos, tales como el dolor. Con el objetivo de explorar la relación entre la evolución del dolor cervical sin alteración orgánica y la personalidad del individuo, analizamos la asociación entre dos indicadores del pronóstico de dolor cervical, tales como la duración y la recurrencia de la baja laboral, y 15 rasgos de personalidad en una muestra de 64 trabajadores en situación de baja laboral con diagnóstico de dolor cervical sin alteración orgánica. Para la evaluación de los rasgos de personalidad utilizamos el cuestionario de personalidad de TEA, TPT. Este instrumento evalúa específicamente rasgos de personalidad que son relevantes en el contexto laboral. En comparación con los datos normativos referentes a población española proporcionados en el manual del cuestionario, nuestra muestra de estudio obtuvo puntuaciones significativamente más elevadas en Depresión, Ansiedad y Labilidad emocional. Estos datos sugieren un perfil de personalidad en estos trabajadores con tendencia al neuroticismo. Controlando el efecto de la edad, el género y el hecho de haber realizado rehabilitación para el problema de dolor, encontramos una relación positiva entre las puntuaciones en la escala Depresión y la duración de la baja. De otro lado, puntuaciones más bajas en la escala Dinamismo y actividad se relacionó con una mayor probabilidad de recurrencia de la baja laboral. Estos resultados preliminares enfatizan la necesidad de explorar de manera más detallada el rol que juega la personalidad del individuo en la aparición y el mantenimiento del dolor cervical sin alteración orgánica. Así mismo, nuestros datos sugieren que un abordaje psicosocial, complementario al tratamiento médico que reciben estos pacientes, podría resultar útil para el manejo del dolor cervical (AU)

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STUDY OBJECTIVES: We explored differences between individuals with DSM-IV-TR diagnoses of primary insomnia (PI) and insomnia related to a mental disorder (IMD) by using serial measurements of self-reported sleep variables (sleep onset latency, SOL; wake after sleep onset, WASO; total sleep time, TST; sleep efficiency, SE), and visual analogue scale ratings of 2 forms of bedtime arousal (cognitive and emotional). Furthermore, we sought to examine the relationship between sleep and arousal within each diagnostic subgroup. DESIGN: Between-group and within-group comparisons. SETTING: Duke and Rush University Medical Centers, USA. PARTICIPANTS: One hundred eighty-seven insomnia sufferers (126 women, average age 47.15 years) diagnosed by sleep specialists at 2 sleep centers as PI patients (n=126) and IMD patients (n=61). INTERVENTIONS: N/A. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: Multilevel models for sleep measures indicated that IMD displayed significantly more instability across nights in their TST (i.e., larger changes) than did PI patients. With respect to pre-sleep arousal, IMD patients exhibited higher mean levels of emotional arousal, as well as more instability on the nightly ratings of this measure. Within the PI group, correlational analyses revealed a moderate relationship between the 2 arousal variables and SOL (r values 0.29 and 0.26), whereas the corresponding correlations were negligible and statistically nonsignificant in the IMD group. CONCLUSIONS: We found a number of differences on nighttime variables between those diagnosed with primary insomnia and those diagnosed with insomnia related to a mental disorder. These differences imply different perpetuating mechanisms involved in their ongoing sleep difficulties. Additionally, they support the categorical distinctiveness and the concurrent validity of these insomnia subtypes.

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STUDY OBJECTIVES: This study tested the ecological validity of actigraphy (ACT) for estimating objective sleep parameters in participants' homes. We also examined how well ACT and polysomnography (PSG) measures discriminated (1) individuals with and without insomnia; and (2) nights participants rated worse, the same as, or better than average. METHODS: Thirty-one primary insomnia sufferers and 31 normal sleepers completed up to 3 consecutive monitoring nights with wrist ACT and PSG in their homes. They also rated how each night compared to their "average night's" sleep. ACT and PSG measures of sleep onset latency (SOL), wake after sleep onset (WASO), total sleep time (TST), and sleep efficiency (SE) were then compared using Bland and Altman correlational procedures and repeated measures ANOVAs. Differences between groups and among nights assigned distinctive ratings were tested via mixed-model ANOVAs. RESULTS: Medium to large between- and within-subject correlations were observed for all measures in the insomnia sufferers sample and for most measures in the normal sleepers sample. Two (ACT vs. PSG) x 3 (nights) repeated measures ANOVAs showed that, in both samples, SOL derived from ACT was consistently lower than SOL derived from PSG across the 3 nights of recording. By contrast, ACT and PSG produced estimates of WASO, TST, and SE that did not differ from each other across nights. Subsequent 2 (insomnia vs. normal sleeper) x 3 (worse, same, better than average) mixed-model ANOVAs showed only ACT SOL discriminated those with and without insomnia and nights assigned distinctive ratings. Among the PSG-derived measures, only SE showed such a pattern. CONCLUSIONS: ACT provides informative data for insomnia sufferers and normal sleepers in their usual sleep environments. The ACT estimate of SOL seems sensitive to night-to-night differences in subjective sleep ratings. A possible strength of ACT lies in its assessment of nocturnal movement, a parameter different from PSG-based sleep measures.

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BACKGROUND: Despite a paucity of data on efficacy and safety of natural (herbal and dietary) products, their use appears to be widespread. This study aimed at examining the frequency of natural products' use for sleep and their correlates in a population-based sample. METHODS: A randomly selected sample of adults (n=997; 59.9% women) from the province of Quebec completed a postal survey on sleep, use of sleep-promoting products (natural products, prescribed medication, over-the-counter medication and alcohol), physical and mental health, lifestyle habits and demographics. RESULTS: A total of 18.5% of participants reported having used natural products as sleep aids in the past 12months, with chamomile being the most popular product. Participants who exclusively used natural products as sleep aids (10.3% of the sample) were predominantly females, younger and had a higher educational level than those using prescribed medications. Natural products users reported engaging in more health-promoting behaviors than the nonusers of sleep aids and, despite the presence of subthreshold insomnia symptoms (mean Insomnia Severity Index score=9.33), they tended to perceive themselves as healthier when compared with prescribed medication users and nonusers of sleep aids. CONCLUSIONS: The use of natural products as sleep aids is a common practice. Often associated with a general health-promoting lifestyle, it may reflect the common perception that natural products are necessarily beneficial for sleep and without risks.

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