Prevalence of sleep disturbances in people with epilepsy and the impact on quality of life: a survey in secondary care

Abstract

Purpose: Studies in adults with epilepsy, mainly in specialized epilepsy clinics, have shown that sleep disturbances were twice as prevalent in people with epilepsy as in healthy controls. Our aim was to determine the prevalence of sleep disturbances in people with epilepsy treated in district hospitals, as well as the impact of it on Quality of Life.

Method: Adults with epilepsy, attending outpatient clinics in three district hospitals were invited to participate. Those who accepted (N = 122) provided their own controls matched for age and sex. Both groups completed four questionnaires (Groningen Sleep Quality Scale (GSQ), Medical Outcomes Study-Sleep scale (MOSS), Sleep Diagnosis List (SDL) and Epworth Sleepiness Scale) to measure their sleep over different periods and the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) to measure Quality of Life (QoL). The prevalence of sleep disturbances and scores on QoL were compared between both groups.

Results: Sleep quality, measured by the SDL, was in the pathological range 50% more often in the epilepsy group than in controls. This was confirmed by the MOSS_INDEX and GSQ. People with epilepsy experienced excessive daytime sleepiness more often than controls. The lowest scores on nearly all domains of the SF-36 were seen in people with epilepsy and associated sleep disturbances.

Conclusion: We confirmed the higher prevalence of sleep disturbances in people with epilepsy compared to controls as previously reported from specialized settings. The (co-morbid) sleep disturbances result in lower QoL scores, in both people with epilepsy and in controls, but more in people with epilepsy.

Keywords: Adults; People with epilepsy; Quality of life; Sleep disturbances; Sleep problems.