Features of sleep disturbances in multiple sclerosis patients

Sleep disturbances in multiple sclerosis (MS) have received little research attention despite the potential influence it may have on the impact of the disease. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of sleep disturbances in a Lithuanian community sample of individuals with the relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) and its relation with depression, anxiety, and health related quality of life (HRQoL). The examined group consisted of 137 RRMS outpatients. The following questionnaires were used: the original socio-demographic questionnaire, Medical Outcomes Study Sleep (MOSS) measure, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and HRQoL measure. The relationship of objective sleep disturbances was evaluated with multivariate linear regression, adjusted to socio-demographic and clinical data. Sleep disturbances were present in 45.3 percent of patients. According to the HADS-D, depressive symptoms were present in 21.9 percent, according to the HADS-A, anxiety symptoms were present in 19.7 percent of study participants. Mean value of Physical and Mental component of HRQoL respectively constituted 40.4 and 44.5. We observed the relationship between sleep disturbances and gender, age, EDSS, prevalence of depression and anxiety, and Physical and Mental component of HRQoL. Our research was limited by narrow number of study participants and could be accepted only as preliminary study. The study investigated only RRMS patients, therefore investigation of other clinical forms of MS could provide more exhaustive data related with sleep disturbances. The investigation included only outpatients group, therefore research of inpatients could provide more comprehensive data. Sleep disturbances in our study were common in RRMS, and they related with female gender, older age, higher disability status, prevalence of depression and anxiety, and worse HRQoL. The treatable causes of sleep disturbances in RRMS should be identified and cured. However, further research are requested to confirm these findings.