Shared PTSD and Paradox Insomnia Among Wives of Veterans with Chronic War Induced PTSD: A Preliminary Study

War-induced Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and its complications can be passed on to patients’ family members. This study aims to investigate PTSD symptoms and sleep quality among chronic PTSD patients and their wives. PTSD symptoms were evaluated among 14 veterans with chronic PTSD and their wives by the PTSD checklist - Military version (PCL-M). Objective and subjective sleep data were collected by actigraphy and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), respectively. Data was analyzed using t - tests, χ2, and Pearson or Spearman correlation coefficient by SPSS software version 16. According to PCL-M, seven wives were diagnosed with PTSD while others reported high PCL scores. Total PCL-M scores did not differ significantly between veterans and wives: there was, instead, a significantly positive correlation between these two groups (r = 0.563; P = 0.036). Veterans with PTSD reported significantly poorer sleep quality compared to their wives on the PSQI (P < 0.05), however, not in the actigraphy. Veterans’ PSQI and actigraphy sleep indices differed significantly (P < 0.01). Subjective sleep latency (41.79 ± 29.65) was significantly higher than objective (11.38 ± 28.64) among wives (P < 0.01). A significant positive correlation was observed between the two groups’ subjective sleep efficiency (r = 0.569; P = 0.03) and between PTSD severity and PSQI total scores (r = 0.53; P < 0.01). The wives of persons with PTSD indicated some degree of PTSD. Veterans with PTSD reported poorer sleep quality than their wives. PTSD can negatively influence sleep quality.