Disability, quality of life, mood may affect sleep in IBD patients

(HealthDay)—Sleep quality is associated with mood state, disability, and quality of life among patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), according to a study published online Jan. 16 in Scientific Reports.

Carla Marinelli, from the University Hospital of Padua in Italy, and colleagues evaluated sleep quality among 166 IBD patients to identify possible independent risk factors for sleep disturbance, including demographic and clinical characteristics.

The researchers found that 67.5 percent of participants suffered from sleep disturbance. Low quality of life, presence of disability, and extraintestinal manifestations were identified as independent risk factors for sleep disturbance. All patients with depression were also affected by sleep disturbance, but there were no differences in sleep disturbance between patients with or without anxiety. There was a positive correlation between both anxiety and depression scores and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index scores (Spearman correlation: r = 0.31 and 0.38, respectively).

"Our study showed that sleep quality is not directly associated with an active or inactive IBD state or with the ongoing treatment, but it is mostly correlated with the patients' mood state, disability, and quality of life," the authors write. "Gastroenterologists and psychologists should join forces during clinical outpatients' visits to evaluate emotional states for a better IBD management."