Open Access Rheumatology: Research and Reviews (Jul 2019)

Frequency of sleep disorders in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

  • Mustafa M,
  • Bawazir Y,
  • Merdad L,
  • Wali S,
  • Attar S,
  • Fathaldin O,
  • Bahlas S,
  • Alhejaili F,
  • Aljohaney A,
  • Jan A,
  • Jadu F

Journal volume & issue
Vol. Volume 11
pp. 163 – 171

Abstract

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Mohammad Mustafa,1 Yasser Bawazir,2 Leena Merdad,3 Siraj Wali,4 Suzan Attar,2 Omar Fathaldin,2 Sami Bahlas,2 Faris Alhejaili,4 Ahmed Aljohaney,4 Ahmed Jan,5 Fatima Jadu51Rheumatology Unit, Department of Medicine, University of Jeddah, Jeddah, Makkah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; 2Rheumatology Unit, Department of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Makkah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; 3Community Medicine Department, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Makkah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; 4Sleep Medicine and Research Center, King Abdulaziz University Hospital, Jeddah, Makkah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; 5Faculty of Dentistry, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Makkah, Kingdom of Saudi ArabiaPurpose: To determine the prevalence of common sleep problems among patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and their relationship with the disease activity and quality of life.Patients and methods: The study sample consisted of 101 patients who attended a rheumatology clinic at a university hospital between October 2015 and May 2016. All subjects were clinically examined and interviewed by physicians using a questionnaire. The collected information included sociodemographic characteristics, the patients’ medical histories, the Disease Activity Score (DAS28), the Berlin questionnaire to assess the risk of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), the Epworth Sleepiness Scale to assess excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS), the Athens Insomnia Scale to assess insomnia, the International RLS Study Group score to diagnose restless legs syndrome (RLS), and the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) to assess the quality of life.Results: The mean age of the participants was 48.7±14.6 years, and 95% of the participants were females. Approximately 60% of the participants were in the remission/low category of disease activity, and the average DAS28 score was 3.3±0.8 years. The prevalence rates of insomnia, EDS, sleep disturbance, risk of OSA, and RLS were 63%, 20%, 20%, 37%, and 63%, respectively. Furthermore, the distribution of sleep disorders was not affected by the disease activity. The association between the HAQ and sleep disorders among the RA patients was not significant.Conclusion: Sleep disorders are common among RA patients and may require further attention by treating clinicians; nevertheless, these disorders are not associated with disease activity and do not affect the quality of life.Keywords: prevalence, insomnia, sleep apnea, restless legs syndrome, sleep quality, quality of life

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