Factors Associated With Sleep Quality in Patients With Multiple Sclerosis

Objective: A limited number of studies with inconsistent results have assessed the factors associated with sleep quality in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). This study aimed to evaluate sleep quality and to investigate the associations between sleep quality and demographic and health-related characteristics, anemia, fatigue and physical activity in Turkish patients with MS. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in a sample of 102 patients with MS who were followed in a neurology outpatient clinic of a tertiary hospital in Turkey between March 2015 and November 2015. Data were collected by an information form, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, the Visual Analogue Scale for Fatigue and the short version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. Anemia was evaluated by measuring hemoglobin levels. Data analysis were performed using descriptive statistics, Mann-Whitney U-test, Kruskal-Wallis H test, Spearman’s correlation coefficients and logistic regression analysis with backward stepwise elimination. Results: The mean global Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index score was 5.98 ± 3.94, and 52.0% of the participants reported poor sleep quality. Twenty patients (19.6%) had anemia. Patients with higher fatigue were more likely to have poor sleep quality (adjusted Odds Ratio, 1.283; 95% confidence interval, 1.031– 1.596, p = 0.026). Conclusions: Poor sleep quality was common in patients with MS and higher levels of fatigue predicted poorer sleep quality. A better understanding of risk factors related to sleep quality may facilitate effective interventions that improve health outcomes.