A comparative study of the components of sleep quality in medical outpatients

Abstract

Background. Almost any medical illness that causes significant pain or discomfort may negatively affect the quality of sleep. Moreover sleep disorders may coexist with medical disorders in people of all ages. Measuring sleep dysfunction is an area of active research, but few studies examined subjective ratings of sleep quality in medical patients Method. A total of 250 medical patients with various somatic complaints who attended the ENT, internal, neurology, orthopaedics and urology clinics participated in this study. The patients completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) which measures the quality of sleep in seven major domains and helps discriminate between individuals who experience poor sleep versus individuals who sleep well. A score ≥6 is considered as a significant sleep disturbance. Results. The PSQI score of the patients from all selected clinics were higher than the reported cut-off point (Mean = 8, SD = 3.42). Significant differences were found in sleep duration (component 3) and sleep disturbances (component 5) between clinics. Pain and worry were the major causes of sleep disturbances reported by the majority of the patients. Conclusion. Sleep disturbances in medically ill patients require careful evaluation for proper treatment that will alleviate the sleep problem without exacerbating concomitant illnesses. Essentially any condition that causes pain or discomfort may cause insomnia and must be considered in the overall treatment plan.

A Study of Sleep disturbances in medically ill patients

“…In a study done by Meissner and others [3] insomnia was found in 47% of patients while other researchers have reported a prevalence of 59% [9]. Numerous investigators have demonstrated increased prevalence of insomnia in subjects with somatic diseases [10][11][12]. Restless legs syndrome, a was found in 22.52% of the patients in our study which is higher than that found in normal population.…”

Examining the Factor Structure of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index in a Multi-Ethnic Working Population in Singapore

“…The construct of sleep quality measured by the PSQI encompasses seven components that form distinct clusters of individuals according to their health/illness status. For example, medical outpatients not only have a higher global score compared to non-clinical samples; they also vary their reports on component scores according to the types of clinics they attend and the nature of the sleep disturbances they present with [33], which can be dependent on varying causes such as medical/physical conditions, sleep disorders, mental/psychological factors, behavioral issues, environmental factors or a combination of any of the above, all of which can impact sleep adversely in different ways, and consequently impact the magnitude of sleep quality through different components. Individuals with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), one of the most common sleep disorders, are more likely to report shorter sleep onset, longer sleep duration but yet, poorer perceived sleep quality and higher sleep disturbances and daytime dysfunction, compared to healthy controls [34].…”

Prevalence and correlates of poor sleep quality among medical students at a Nigerian university

“…[6] Poor sleep quality impairs academic performance [2,7] and is associated with an increased risk of psychological morbidity and burnout. [8] Furthermore, irregular sleep schedules, [8] psychoactive substance use, [9] fatigue [10] and co-morbid physical or psychological conditions [11,12] are associated with poor sleep quality. Recent evidence for the predisposing risk of adverse childhood experiences on sleep quality has been reported.…”