Proposal for new sleep disorder criteria in patients with chronic liver disease: Influence of liver‐related complications

Aim Sleep disorder is common in patients with chronic liver disease (CLD). Liver‐related silent complications, including muscle cramps, covert hepatic encephalopathy (HE), and sarcopenia, often reduce the quality of life of patients with CLD and have been reported to cause sleep disorders. In this study, we clarified the prevalence of liver‐related complications associated with sleep disorders in patients with CLD. Methods We conducted a multicenter cohort study of 271 patients with CLD. The Athens Insomnia Scale, muscle cramps questionnaires, and Stroop test were used to assess insomnia, muscle cramps, and covert HE, respectively. In addition, sarcopenia, dynapenia, and myopenia were diagnosed according to the guidelines of the Japan Society of Hepatology. Results In total, 136 patients (50.2%) had sleep disorders. Serum albumin and hemoglobin levels and prothrombin time activity were significantly lower in patients with sleep disorders than in those without sleep disorders. On univariate and multivariate analyses adjusted with inverse probability weighting, muscle cramps, covert HE, and dynapenia were associated with a sleep disorder. Sleep disorder was categorized as follows: cramp, covert HE, dynapenia, multiple complications, and others. In total, 106 of 136 patients (77.9%) with sleep disorder had at least one liver‐related complication, whereas 75 patients had multiple liver‐related complications. Conclusion Sleep disorder in patients with CLD was classified into four categories (muscle cramp, covert HE, dynapenia, and others). Questionnaire for sleep disorder might be an easy primary step for surveillance of high‐risk patients with silent complications associated CLD.