The Association Between Depression and Subjective Sleep Quality: Truth or Reporting Bias?

Fabrice Kampfen, University of Lausanne, Switzerland
Zhiyong Huang , Southwestern University of Finance and Economics

Objectives: To determine the presence and magnitude of reporting heterogeneity in subjective assessment of sleep quality by those who have depressive symptoms. Methods: An online survey using Visual Analogue Scales and anchoring vignettes was implemented to study the comparability of subjective assessments of sleep quality among university students in Switzerland. Kernel densities and multivariate linear regressions exploiting anchoring vignettes were used to examine the association between self-reported sleep quality and depressive symptoms and the potential role of reporting heterogeneity in moderating this relationship. Results: Our analysis shows that reporting heterogeneity plays a marginal role in moderating the negative association between depression and sleep quality, irrespective of the severity of the depressive symptoms of the individuals. Conclusions: Although present in subjective assessments of sleep quality, reporting heterogeneity doesn't appear to explain much of the depression-sleep quality gradient. This suggests that comparisons of subjective sleep quality between individuals are reliable, even among those suffering from depression.

See paper

 Presented in Session 5. Health & Mortality 1