Sleep disturbances in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, connection with the course of the disease

Abstract

Annotation. The mechanisms of frequent and various sleep disturbances in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) remain largely unstudied in spite of side effects of drugs, as well as chronic stress, depressive disorders and the duration of the disease playing a certain role in their occurrence. Purpose – to assess the presence and severity of insomnia in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and to study its relationship with the course of the disease. 96 patients with SLE were examined, the average age of which was 37.5±0.9 years, the duration of the disease was 6.2±0.4 years. The control group consists of 29 practically healthy people, the average age is 39.0±1.09. All patients were examined by a neurologist and a psychiatrist, sleep disorders were assessed by a clinical survey using the Insomnia Severity Index questionnaire. The statistical analysis of the obtained results was carried out according to generally accepted methods of variational statistics using the package of statistical programs “Microsoft Office Excel 2007”. It is established that sleep disorders in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus occur in 88.5% of patients, while in the control group this indicator is 17.2%. Mild sleep disorders were found in 20.8% of patients, moderate in 66.7%, severe in 21.8%. Most often, these disorders were manifested by interrupted sleep (55.2%), daytime activity disturbance (35.4%), difficulty falling asleep (26.0%), daytime quality of life disturbance (22.9%), early awakening (11.5%). Insomnia was not closely related to gender and disease duration, increased with age, and was more closely associated with SLICC/DI damage index and SLEDAI disease activity. So, sleep disorders in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus occur 5.1 times more often than in healthy individuals, have different manifestations and degrees, are associated with age, total SLEDAI activity index, and internal organ damage index. Early diagnosis of these disorders, assessment of the connection with the course of the disease can be of great importance in improving the quality of life of patients.