Abstract
To the Editor
Despite reports of decreased ecstasy use, Australians still report the highest prevalence of ecstasy use in the world, with 3.6% - 4% of the adult population reporting lifetime use (Sindicich et al., 2011), and 1 in 10 of those aged 20-29 years reporting use in the past year (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2011).
Ecstasy use is associated with clinically significant decrements in sleep quality, even after controlling for polydrug use (Ogeil et al., 2011). However, the subjective nature of user-reported sleep quality suggests a need for corroborating evidence. One source of evidence is the ecstasy user’s partner/roommate. Obtaining this external perspective may identify additional sleep events that are not evident to the user, facilitating the explanation as to why drug use may be negatively impacting quality of life (Breugelmans et al., 2004).
We investigated the prevalence of commonly reported sleep disturbances in a sample of ecstasy users (n=157; mean age 26.11 years, SD 7.13), as reported by their roommates/partners. Data were collected using the supplementary questions of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) (Buysse et al., 1989). The relationship between roommate/partner ratings of sleep disturbance and user-reported sleep quality was also assessed.
Table 1 shows the frequency with which roommates/partners rated ecstasy users as exhibiting symptoms associated with disturbed sleep during the past month. These symptoms were correlated with users’ self-assessed sleep quality. Global PSQI score was significantly correlated with partner-reported: long pauses between breaths (r=0.170, p <0.05), legs twitching or jerking (r=0.268, p <0.01); and episodes of disorientation or confusion (r=0.365, p <0.01) during sleep in ecstasy users. Global PSQI score was not significantly related with partner ratings of loud snoring.
Frequency of adverse events (percent of respondents) during sleep reported by ecstasy user’s partners/ roommates
Of the 50 responses noting ‘other’, n=38 provided a description, with the most common responses being ‘sleep talking’ n=7 and ‘bad dreams’ n=5.
These results demonstrate that many ecstasy users display signs of sleep disturbance that can be corroborated by others. Previously we have reported that ecstasy users who had been told to cut down their use by a family member, friend or healthcare professional were more likely to suffer from a clinically relevant sleep disturbance (Ogeil et al., 2011). The low-moderate correlations between the observations of others and self-reported sleep ratings suggest that ecstasy users may not be aware of these disturbances. Therefore clinical interventions designed to address sleep problems within this group would benefit from consultation with ecstasy-users’ roommate/partner.
Footnotes
Funding
Rowan Ogeil was in receipt of a postgraduate publications award from Monash University while preparing and writing this article.