Sleep problems in patients with parkinson’s disease in a hospital setting from Romania

Abstract

Sleep dysfunction is common among patients with Parkinson’s disease and occurs in approximately two thirds of patients. The objective of this study was to examine the prevalence of sleep problems in patients with Parkinson’s disease in Romania, and their associated factors. 44 consecutive PD inpatients (41% females) were included in a study of non-motor symptoms, including sleep problems. All participants responded to the Parkinson’s Disease Sleep Scale (PDSS), where an overall score below 82 or a score below 5 on a sub-item indicate sleep problem. Factors associated with sleep were also investigated, with special emphasis on severity of PD, fatigue, mental health and restless legs syndrome (RLS). The mean age was 67.8 years (range 35–74); the mean Hoehn and Yahr stage was 2.13 (SD 0.89), and the mean UPDRS part III was 22.6 (SD 11.5). Sleep problems were common among PD patients. While only 17% of the sample had an overall score below 82 on the PDSS, 70% of the patients had a score below 5 on one item. The current findings call for increased awareness of sleep problems in PD patients, especially focusing on the association with mental health problems, fatigue and RLS. Physicians and patients must be educated so that sleep problems can be appropriately recognized and treated. I thank Proffesor Cornel Dinu Popescu for his skillfull assistance during the study.