Sleep pattern, quality and sleepiness among patients with exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Abstract

Introduction Sleep is very important for optimal daily activities and contributes significantly to health and quality of life. Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have various sleep related problems that can be increased on exacerbation periods. We aim to study sleep pattern and sleepiness in COPD patients with an acute exacerbation. Materials and methods 70 COPD patients were recruited from San Cecilio and Virgen de las Nieves Hospitals (Granada, Spain). Data regarding the sleep pattern, the clinical and the social characteristics were obtained. The assessment included the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale. Results 70 subjects were studied with a mean age of 72.8 ± 8.35 years . 79.5% of the subjects were smokers. The predominant sleep problems were frequent night time awakenings which were present in 54 (60%), while problems initiating sleep were very prevalent among the cases 20 (22.2%). Sleepiness was reported in 14 (15.6%) and none (24, 26.7 %). Overall 8.9% of the cases described their sleep as good. PSQI is significantly related with level of dyspnea, Levels of Depression and Anxiety and Cough ( p Conclusion This study shows that COPD patients have poor sleep quality, disorders in the sleep pattern and daytime sleepiness during acute exacerbations. Their sleep quality is significantly related to anxiety, depression, cough and dyspnea.