Poor Subjective Sleep Quality Predicts Symptoms in Irritable Bowel Syndrome Using the Experience Sampling Method

Area of Science:

• Gastroenterology
• Sleep Medicine
• Psychosomatic Medicine

Background:

• Sleep quality is a potential factor influencing symptom experience in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
• Understanding the relationship between sleep and gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms is crucial for effective IBS management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the bidirectional relationship between subjective and objective sleep quality and GI symptoms in IBS patients.
• To determine the predictive role of sleep quality on subsequent GI symptom severity.

Main Methods:

• Utilized actigraphy for objective sleep assessment and a smartphone application for daily GI symptom and mood tracking over seven days.
• Employed the experience sampling method (ESM) to capture real-time symptom data and subjective sleep quality.
• Applied cross-lagged structural equation models to analyze the temporal dynamics between sleep and GI symptoms.

Main Results:

• A significant proportion of IBS patients (66%) reported clinically significant sleep disturbances, with 82% screening positive for a sleep disorder.
• Poor subjective sleep quality significantly predicted increased next-day abdominal pain and lower GI symptoms.
• Objective sleep measures from actigraphy did not show a significant association with subsequent GI symptoms.

Conclusions:

• The perception of sleep quality, rather than objective sleep parameters, appears to be more influential in predicting next-day GI symptoms in IBS.
• Findings suggest that interventions targeting subjective sleep quality may be beneficial for managing IBS symptoms.
• Further research is warranted to explore the impact of sleep interventions on GI symptom burden in IBS.