Sleep disturbances in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Sleep problems are frequent in chronic diseases like rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The present study was conducted to determine frequency of sleep disturbances and their relations with disease severity.

The present case-control study was performed on 100 rheumatoid patients who were referred to the rheumatology clinic at the Avicenna hospital. A hundred age- and sex-matched healthy individuals were recruited in the study as a control group. Pittsburgh Sleep, 1Quality questionnaire, Insomnia Severity Index questionnaire and Epworth Sleepiness Scale were used. The disease activity was caIculated with the disease activity score 28. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS version 19.

Mean scores of the sleep quality were 6.2 +/- 4.3 in patients and 4.6 +/- 2.5 in control group. 28% of the patients had good sleep quality whereas 72% had poor sleep quality. Daytime sleepiness was present in 24.8% of the patients and 15% of the control group. Multiple logistic regressions showed that insomnia, pain and disease intensity were the most important factors that determine patients' sleep quality.

The present study showed that sleep disturbances are frequent in patients with RA and may contribute to disease severity. It is recommended that rheumatoid patients be evaluated for sleep disturbances during routine examinations.