Influence of Parathyroidectomy on Sleep Quality in Primary Hyperparathyroidism

We investigated the impact of parathyroidectomy on sleep quality in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism (pHPT). Thirty consecutive patients with pHPT were enrolled in the study within 1 year. pHPT was diagnosed by typical symptoms accompanied by an elevated level of parathormone. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was used for the evaluation of sleep 1 day before and 6 months after parathyroidectomy. The mean total PSQI score was elevated to 6.8 ± 0.6 points before surgery, which was in the pathological cut-off of greater than ≥5, indicating impaired sleep quality. After parathyroidectomy, the total score declined insignificantly, amounting to 5.6 ± 0.4 (p > 0.05). Nevertheless, the number of patients with a score of ≥5 before surgery decreased from 21 (70%) to 16 (53%) after surgery. There also was a significant improvement in sleep latency (p = 0.05) and sleep efficiency (p = 0.02) domains of PSQI. We conclude that 70% of patients with untreated pHPT suffered from sleep disorders that improved after parathyroidectomy. The clinical consequence is that patients with pHPT should be questioned about having sleep disorders, which might influence the decision-making concerning parathyroidectomy. With the relation reversed, patients without pHPT but suffering from sleep disturbance should be tested for pHPT.