Factors associated with fatigue in patients with insomnia

Although fatigue is common in insomnia, the clinical associates of fatigue in patients with insomnia are largely unknown. We aimed to investigate the clinical associates of fatigue in patients with insomnia. Patients visiting the Stanford Sleep Medicine Center completed the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), Insomnia Symptom Questionnaire (ISQ), the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS), the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), and the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). Among 6367 patients, 2024 were diagnosed with insomnia (age 43.06 ± 15.19 years; 1110 women and 914 men) according to the ISI and the ISQ. Insomnia patients with severe fatigue (n = 1306) showed higher insomnia symptoms, daytime sleepiness, depression and longer habitual sleep duration than those without severe fatigue (n = 718). Higher insomnia symptoms, daytime sleepiness and depressive symptoms, and longer habitual sleep duration, independently predicted higher fatigue scores. Among insomnia patients with daytime sleepiness (ESS≥10), only habitual sleep duration and depression predicted fatigue scores. The interaction between insomnia severity and daytime sleepiness significantly predicted the severity of fatigue. Depression was a significant mediator between insomnia and fatigue. For 598 insomnia patients undergoing overnight polysomnography (PSG), no significant correlations were found between fatigue and any PSG parameters. The current study suggests that managing insomnia or depression may reduce the fatigue of insomnia patients, whereas arbitrary efforts to prolong sleep duration may worsen their fatigue.