Sleep Disorders and Restless Legs Syndrome in Hemodialysis Patients in Greece: A Cross-Sectional Study

Sleep disorders, including insomnia and extreme sleep times, adversely affect the risk of developing illnesses and contribute to increased mortality rates. The aim of the study was to investigate sleep disorders experienced by hemodialysis patients in order to draw useful conclusions and to propose solutions to address this serious problem.

This is a cross-sectional study, and the study sample consisted of 120 patients undergoing hemodialysis from February to April 2017 at a general hospital in Greece. The main tools of the survey were the Athens Insomnia Scale, the Berlin Questionnaire, and the RLS (Restless Legs Syndrome) Questionnaire.

Most of the patients were males (68.3%), aged 68.1 ± 14.1 years. Half of the responders suffered from insomnia. About two thirds were at low risk for sleep apnea. Most of the responders suffered from restless legs syndrome (62.5%). Insomnia was significantly associated with higher BMI (RR: 0.180; 95% CI [0.032, 1.003]), analgesics receiving (RR: 0.125; 95% CI [0.031, 0.513]), hypnotics receiving (RR: 0.072; 95% CI [0.010, 0.533]), and restless legs syndrome (RR: 2.281; 95% CI [1.179, 4.413]) after adjusting for sociodemographic variables.Sleep apnea was significantly linked to analgesics (RR: 0.309; 95% CI [0.093, 1.027]; p = 0.045). RLS was significantly tied to hypnotics (RR: 0.077; 95% CI [0.008, 0.745]; p = 0.027) and insulin (RR: 0.019; 95% CI [0.001, 0.542]; p = 0.020).

Sleep disorders are common symptoms among hemodialysis patients. The restless legs syndrome occurs at a lower frequency among hemodialysis patients but is a major problem for them.