The stigma of patients with chronic insomnia: a clinical study

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to explore the stigma and related influencing factors in individuals with chronic insomnia disorder (CID). METHODS: A total of 70 CID patients and 70 healthy controls (CON) were enrolled in the study. All subjects completed the assessments of sleep, emotion, and cognition. Their stigma and life quality were measured using the Chronic Stigma Scale and the 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36). RESULTS: The ratio of individuals with stigma was significantly different between CID and CON groups (C(2) = 35.6, p < 0.001). Compared with the CON group, the CID group had higher scores for total stigma (U = 662.0, p < 0.001), internalized stigma (U = 593.0, p < 0.001), enacted stigma (U = 1568.0, p < 0.001), PSQI (U = 2485.0, p < 0.001) and HAMD-17 (U = 69.5, p < 0.001) as well as lower scores for MoCA-C (U = 3997.5, p < 0.001) and most items of SF-36. Partial correlation analysis showed that different items of the Chronic Stigma Scale were positively correlated with illness duration, PSQI and HAMD-17 scores, while negatively correlated with one or more items of the SF-36. Multivariate regression analysis showed that illness duration and the Mental Health domain of the SF-36 were independent risk factors for one or more items of stigma in CID patients. CONCLUSION: Patients with CID have an increased risk of stigma. Moreover, illness duration and Mental Health may be primary factors related to stigma. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12888-022-04091-y.