A comparative cross-sectional study on sleep quality in patients with a history of differentiated thyroid carcinoma and its correlation with quality of life

Purpose To evaluate sleep quality in differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) patients and correlate sleep disturbances with quality of life (QoL). Methods 119 DTC patients were enrolled (DTC group). The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) inventories were administered. The Thyroid-specific Patient-Reported Outcome (ThyPRO) questionnaire, the Billewicz scale (BS) and an ad-hoc visual analogic scale (VAS) were used to measure QoL and subjective therapy-related complaints. The same examinations were conducted in 53 subjects (control group) who had undergone surgery for benign thyroid pathology. Results L-T4 dosages and TSH levels differed between the groups. BS and VAS scores were comparable. PSQI documented a similar percentage of poor sleepers in the DTC (74%) and control (62%) groups. ISI showed no difference in subjects without clinically significant insomnia: DTC (43%) and controls (48%). ThyPRO showed significantly worse scores in DTC than control subjects. In DTC patients, PSQI ( P = 0.002) and ISI ( P = 0.04) correlated significantly with age. In control subjects, TSH displayed a significant positive association with PSQI ( P = 0.02) and ISI ( P