Sleep disturbances in Japanese patients with inflammatory bowel disease and their impact on disease flare

BACKGROUND Several studies have reported a significant association between sleep disturbance and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The aim of the present study is to compare the clinical characteristics and the health-related quality of life (HR-QOL) of Japanese IBD patients with or without sleep disturbances, and to investigate the risk factors for disease flare in these patients. METHODS IBD patients were asked to complete a self-administered questionnaire including the Pittsburg sleep quality index and the 8-item short-form health survey. The information about disease flare within 1 year from enrollment in the study was analyzed with a multiple logistic regression model to identify risk factors for IBD flare-ups. RESULTS The prevalence of sleep disturbances was 44.1 % (60 out of 136 IBD patients). Use of sleep medications was significantly higher in IBD patients with sleep disturbances whereas use of immuno modulators was significantly higher in IBD patients without sleep disturbances. The scores from all HR-QOL domains were significantly lower in patients with sleep disturbances than in patients without sleep disturbances. Fifty-one patients (37.5 %) had disease flare within 1 year from enrollment in the study and sleep disturbances were identified as a significant risk factor for disease flare (OR 3.09, 95 % CI 1.47-6.43). CONCLUSIONS Our results indicate that sleep disturbances are common in Japanese IBD patients and are associated with poorer HR-QOL. Since the presence of sleep disturbances is a significant risk factor for IBD flare-ups, we encourage physicians to perform a careful examination of sleep disturbances in IBD patients.