Patterns and Predictors of Sleep Quality Within the First Year After Lung Transplantation

Sleep quality affects health and self-management in chronic illness. Limited research has examined patterns and predictors of sleep quality and its impact on self-management and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among lung transplant recipients (LTRs).

The aims of this study were to identify the patterns, predictors, and impact of poor sleep quality on self-management behaviors and HRQOL the first year after lung transplantation.

Secondary analysis of 75 LTRs who participated in a randomized controlled trial. Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was administered at baseline, 2, 6, and 12 months after transplant; 12-month PSQI was dichotomized categorizing good versus poor sleepers. Predictors were measured at the time of transplant; self-management and HRQOL were measured at 12 months. Logistic regression identified predictors of poor sleep. Correlations examined poor sleep quality, self-management behaviors, and HRQOL.

Sleep quality was relatively stable during the first year, and 24 of the 75 (32%) of the sample met criteria for poor sleep quality at 12 months. The only multivariate predictor of poor sleep was female gender (odds ratio = 3.421; P = .026); the mental component of HRQOL was the only outcome associated with poor sleep (r = -.348; P < .01).

Nearly one-third of LTRs reported persistent poor sleep through year 1. More females reported poor sleep quality, and sleep quality was inversely related to mental HRQOL by 12 months. Knowledge of these relationships may help identify LTRs at the greatest risk for poor sleep and guide strategies to promote sleep and optimize HRQOL.