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Updated: Jun 2, 2026

Endoscopic Endonasal Trans-sphenoidal Approach: Minimally Invasive Surgery for Pituitary Adenomas
Published on: January 17, 2018
Compression of the optic chiasm is associated with permanent shorter sleep duration in patients with pituitary
Anke J Borgers1, Nico Romeijn, Eus van Someren
1Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Academic Medical Centre, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. a.j.f.borgers@amc.uva.nl
Objective:
Patients with pituitary insufficiency often experience some degree of impaired sleep. Sleep-wake rhythm is regulated to a large extent by the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). Because the SCN is located just superior to the optic chiasm, we hypothesized that a history of compression of the optic chiasm (CC) due to a tumour with suprasellar extension is associated with altered sleep patterns in patients with pituitary insufficiency.
Design:
Case-control study.
Patients:
We studied 38 patients (mean age 55·7 ± 13·1 years; 71·1% men) with CC and 18 patients (mean age 53·3 ± 16·6 years, 38·9% men) without CC.
Measurements:
Objective measures of sleep patterns were assessed by wrist actigraphy. Validated sleep questionnaires were used to evaluate subjective sleep parameters.
Results:
Objective total sleep duration was 36 min shorter in patients with CC than in patients without CC [454 (295-553) vs 490 (432-740) min, P = 0·034]. Moreover, patients with CC had a later habitual bedtime [23:15 (22:30-03:00) vs 22:55 (20:00-02:00) h, P = 0·044] and a later actigraphic sleep onset [23:57 (22:31-01:33) vs 23·16 (19:47-03:04) h, P = 0·020]. Linear regression analysis confirmed the difference in total sleep duration after adjustment for age, sex, body mass index, cranial radiotherapy and pituitary/hypothalamic surgery. Subjective sleep parameters were similar in both groups.
Conclusions:
Compression of the optic chiasm due to a tumour with suprasellar extension is associated with permanent changes in total sleep duration in patients with pituitary insufficiency.
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