Screening for sleep disorders and their medical and psychiatric comorbidities

Abstract

Background: Sleep disorders are common in medical out-patients. They are seldom addressed despite being known to worsen overall health of patients. Detailed evaluation to differentiate these into primary sleep disorders, psychiatric and medical co-morbidity or both can be done by a liaison Psychiatrist. Managing these is necessary for providing good quality recovery for the patient. Method: Cross-sectional survey of 148 randomly selected medical out-patients in a tertiary care hospital was carried out to assess various sleep disorders. Pittsburgh sleep quality index was used for assessment. They were assessed by qualified psychiatrist to establish Psychiatric diagnosis by clinical interview as per ICD-10 classification. Co-occurrence of these with chronic medical problems as diagnosed by clinician was documented. Results: Sleep disorders were common in medical out-patients (48.64%). Commonest among them was difficulty initiating sleep and reduced duration. A significant number screened to have sleep disorders, also had psychiatric co-morbidities (63.8%), Depressive disorders being the commonest (52.1%). Chronic medical illnesses were present in 50 (33.8%) of the all patients assessed for having sleep disorders. Co-occurrence of medical and psychiatric co-morbidities was not statistically significant. Conclusion: Considering high prevalence, patients should be routinely assessed for various sleep problems by Physician and referred to Psychiatrist for management as many of them also have psychiatric co-morbidities. Physician and Psychiatrist liaison is important in managing complex medical and psychiatric co-morbidities associated with sleep disorders.