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Iron deficiency and sleep - A scoping review
Wayne Leung1, Ishmeet Singh1, Scout McWilliams1
1H-Behaviours Research Lab (Previously Sleep/Wake-Behaviours Research Lab), BC Children's Hospital Research Institute, Department of Pediatrics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
Sleep Medicine Reviews
|April 1, 2020
Summary
Iron deficiency is linked to various sleep disorders like restless legs syndrome. Iron supplementation shows significant benefits for improving sleep-related symptoms in many cases.
Area of Science:
- Sleep Medicine
- Hematology
- Nutritional Science
Background:
- Iron deficiency (ID) is frequently associated with sleep disturbances.
- Standardized assessment and treatment protocols for iron status in sleep disorders are lacking in clinical practice.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between iron deficiency and the type/severity of sleep disorders.
- To evaluate the efficacy of iron supplementation in alleviating sleep-related symptoms.
Main Methods:
- A comprehensive scoping review of literature from 1972-2016, updated in 2019, using keywords related to iron deficiency anemia and sleep.
- Analysis of 93 included articles focusing on associations and treatment effects, including randomized controlled trials (RCTs).
- Specific focus on restless legs syndrome (RLS), periodic limb movements in sleep (PLMs), sleep disordered breathing (SDB), general sleep disturbances (GSD), and ADHD-related sleep disorders (ADHD-SDs).
Main Results:
- Statistically supported associations between ID and sleep disorders were found in a significant proportion of studies for RLS, PLMs, SDB, GSD, and ADHD-SDs.
- Iron supplementation demonstrated significant benefits in the majority of treatment studies for RLS, SDB, and GSD.
- Positive associations and benefits of iron supplementation were also noted in pediatric populations across several sleep disorder categories.
Conclusions:
- Iron deficiency should be considered in the diagnostic work-up for patients with sleep disorders.
- Iron supplementation appears to be a beneficial therapeutic option for improving sleep symptoms in various sleep disorders.
- Further research with harmonized study designs, outcome measures, and standardized iron/inflammation status assessment is needed to clarify the role of ID in sleep.
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