Sleep Quality in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis and Associations with Pain, Disability, Disease Duration, and...

Area of Science:

• Rheumatology
• Sleep Medicine
• Clinical Research

Background:

• Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease affecting joints.
• Sleep disturbances are common in patients with chronic inflammatory conditions.
• The relationship between sleep quality and disease parameters in RA requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate subjective sleep quality in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients.
• To determine the correlation between sleep quality and disease activity, pain, inflammation, and functional disability in RA.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study involving 95 RA patients.
• Data collected via questionnaires including the Health Assessment Questionnaire Disability Index and Medical Outcome Study Sleep Scale.
• Disease activity assessed using the Clinical Disease Activity Index and pain via visual analogue scale; inflammatory markers analyzed.

Main Results:

• 57% of RA patients reported non-optimal sleep.
• Non-optimal sleep was significantly associated with higher functional disability (p=0.006) and increased pain levels (p=0.003).
• Multivariate analysis indicated intense pain is linked to lower odds of optimal sleep (OR=0.68, p=0.038).

Conclusions:

• A high prevalence of non-optimal sleep exists in rheumatoid arthritis patients.
• Pain intensity is a significant factor associated with poor sleep quality in RA.
• Clinicians should consider sleep quality assessment and management in RA care to improve patient health and function.