Gender differences in sleep latency between low and high hopelessness individuals.

In depressive symptoms and sleep disorders, the relationship between gender, sleep latency, and feelings of hopelessness is critical for implementing mental health interventions. The current study enrolled 637 Chinese outpatients with depression, ranging in age from 9 to 87 years, 212 males and 425 females. There are specialized psychiatrists who screen outpatients using the ICD-10 diagnostic criteria for depressive episodes. Sleep latency factor in the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and hopelessness factor in the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD-24) were used to assess sleep latency and hopelessness, respectively. The results indicated that hopelessness positively correlated with sleep latency, and females generally experienced longer sleep latency than males. Further, regression analyses revealed a significant interaction between gender and hopelessness on sleep latency. The sleep latency of those with lower levels of hopelessness is shorter than those with higher levels of hopelessness, regardless of gender. Females consistently had longer sleep latency than males, regardless of the level of hopelessness. And among those with low hopelessness, male had significantly lower sleep latency than females. However, as the level of hopelessness increased, the sleep latency of males increased substantially, almost equaling that of females, while females increased only slightly. Future studies should incorporate longitudinal designs and diverse populations to further validate and expand these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]