Evidence suggests a relationship between sleep disturbances and suicidal ideation. The temporal appearance of insomnia has been proposed as a warning sign of imminent suicidal acts. However, there is little information on the temporal relation of insomnia with acts of deliberate self-poisoning (DSP) in particular.

This study aimed to identify the insomnia prevalence in DSP patients and test its predictive value in relation to current psychiatric diagnosis and history of previous DSP acts.

Seventy consecutive patients with DSP admitted from February to September 2010 into three general hospitals had a psychiatric consultation and their sleeping pattern during the week before the DSP act was assessed using the Athens Insomnia Scale.

Patients, with a mean age of 34 ± 2 years, predominantly women (70%), were diagnosed with personality disorders (68%), depression (22%) and psychosis (10%). The overall insomnia prevalence was 69%. A chi-square analysis showed that patients with an Axis I diagnosis were significantly more likely to present insomnia than patients with an Axis II diagnosis. Interestingly, when the number of previous DSP acts was included into the analysis, patients with an Axis I diagnosis with and without previous DSP acts had an equal prevalence of insomnia. On the contrary, in patients with an Axis II diagnosis and previous DSP acts, insomnia was three times more prevalent than in those with no previous DSP acts.

These results suggest that insomnia may be a valid proximal warning sign, particularly in patients with personality disorders and previous DSP acts.

The type D personality (negative affectivity and social inhibition) has been associated with increased risk for adverse cardiovascular outcomes. The prevalence however of type D personality appears to vary significantly among different societies and cultures.

The objective of the present study was to verify the prevalence of type D personality in Greece.

To identify the prevalence of social inhibition, negative affectivity and personality type D, as measured by the DS-14 scale, in Greek patients.

A randomly selected sample of 100 patients with acute myocardial infarction and 100 patients with hyperparathyroidism were recruited. All patients were asked to complete the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, the Athens Insomnia Scale and the DS-14 scale.

Social inhibition was present in 43% of patients suffering from hyperparathyroidism and in 55% of patients suffering from acute myocardial infarction. Negative affectivity was present in 51% of patients with hyperparathyroidism and in 68% of patients with myocardial infarction. As a result, type D personality was found to be present in 29% of patients with hyperparathyroidism and in 46% of patients with acute myocardial infarction.

Prevalence of personality type D was found higher in Greek patients when using the translated DS-14 scale and in comparison to other european studies. Interestingly, Greek patients with acute myocardial infarction had a higher type D personality prevalence than those suffering from hyperparathyroidism, confirming that the construct of type D, however variable, might play a role in the development of cardiovascular events.

Somatosensory amplification, found in anxiety, depression and hypochondriasis, refers to the perception of normal somatic and visceral stimuli as being intense and disturbing. There is also some evidence that dysfunctional parental rearing styles associate with increased risk of suffering from somatic diseases and mental disorders in adulthood.

To measure somatosensory amplification in healthy adults and assess the type of parenting they received.

To verify whether a dysfunctional parenting style, as remembered and assessed by healthy adults, is linked to increased somatosensory amplification in adult life. Given that previous evidence suggested that depression and anxiety are also linked to increased somatosensory amplification, present study also controls for those symptoms in estimating the relationship between somatosensory amplification and parenting styles.

Two-hundred and thirty subjects were randomly selected from the general Greek population and asked to complete the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), the Measurement Of Parenting Style (MOPS), the Remembered Relationship with Parents (RRP) and the Somatosensory Amplification Scale (SSA).

Our results showed that higher HADS scores as well as higher MOPS and RRP scores, indicative of anxiety, depression and perceived dysfunctional parenting respectively, predict a more intense somatosensory amplification. A multivariate regression model showed that increased somatosensory amplification associates best with an overcontrolling parenting style along with more anxiety, lower somatic health and lower educational status.

Our results show that a parenting style perceived as overcontrolling may result later, in adult life, in a more intense somatosensory amplification.

Insomnia, the most common sleep disorder, is 40% more likely to occur in women than in men. However, insomnia often remains unnoticed in general hospitals and only scant data exists regarding insomnia's sex-differences in hospitalized patients.

This study explored in medical inpatients potential sex differences in insomnia and investigated which, if any, self-reported insomnia-related complaints were most sex-differentiated.

Five-hundred patients admitted to medical wards of three general hospitals were randomly selected during 2010–2011. All patients completed the Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS), a standardized self-assessment instrument based on ICD-10 criteria for insomnia. A mixed regression model of ordinal data explored potential sex differences in specific AIS questions.

As expected, total AIS scores, controlled for age, were significantly higher in hospitalized women, which were 1.5 times more likely to score above the AIS cut-off score than men. the statistical analysis indicated significant sex differences in self-reported insomnia complaints. in the entire patient sample, women were generally more likely to complain about frequent awakenings during the night, reduced sleep duration and quality, reduced functioning and well-being during the day and increased sleepiness. the observed sex differences specifically in awakenings during the night, reduced sleep quality and sleepiness during the day were also identified in the sample of patients who screened positively for insomnia.

Women admitted in general hospitals complain heavier than men regarding frequent awakenings during the night, reduced sleep quality and day sleepiness. These findings should be taken into account when assessing insomnia in medical inpatients.