Abstract

Background: Sleep disturbances are non-motor manifestations, which occurs in up to 96% of patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD). They include insomnia, disorders of daytime somnolence, sleep-related breathing disorders,restless legs syndrome (RLS), and rapid eye movement behavior disturbances. Sleep disorders have significant impact on the quality of life in Parkinson’s disease patients.

Method: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study conducted at three neurology referral hospitals. The aim was to assess the frequency and pattern of sleep disturbances among patients with PD. Questionnaires were used to obtain the demographic, clinical features and evaluation of sleep disturbances using PD sleep scale-2 (PDSS-2). The correlation of quality of sleep with the duration of the disease and severity of motor symptoms was assessed using Hoehn and Yahr staging. SPSS version 25 was the tool used for analysis—p value <0.05.

Results: 71 patients with confirmed PD were studied. Males represented 70.4% and the mean age was 64.66 ± 9.6years.

38% had significant nocturnal sleep disturbances (PDSS-2≥18). The most common sleep disorders were nocturia 72% (51), sleep maintenance insomnia 46% (38), sleep refreshment 46% (34), waking up due to pain in arms or legs 45% (32) and (21%) 15 had nocturnal hallucinations. Poor sleepers exhibited longer disease duration but revealed no association with PD severity.

Conclusion: In 71 patients with Parkinson’s disease, one-third had significant sleep disturbances. PDSS-2 score was positively correlated to prolonged duration but not motor symptoms’ severity