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

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.