Assessment of sleep quality in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, spondylarthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus: Northeast Argentine study

Autores: Ariana Ringer, María Noelia Antoniol, Nora Aste, Emilio Pablo Ignacio Benavente, Josefina Gallino, María Marcela Schmid, Marianela Eliana Mauri, Adriana Seewald, Úrsula Vanesa Paris, Maximiliano Bravo, Erika Roxana Catay, María Emilia Sattler, Vanina Góngora, Pablo Finucci Curi, Edson Javier Velozo

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Introduction: autoimmune pathologies (AP) and their treatments can be related to sleep quality.

Objectives: the aim of this study was to evaluate sleep quality in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), spondyloarthritis (SpA), and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) questionnaire in the northeastern provinces of Argentina.

Materials and methods: multicenter study (ARNEA), cross-sectional, analytical and descriptive. Patients with RA, SpA, and SLE were included. Sleep quality was assessed using PSQI. Disease activity, chronicity, and treatment indices were recorded for each pathology. A descriptive, univariate, and multivariate analysis was performed.

Results: 163 patients were evaluated. RA predominated, followed by SLE. According to PSQI, sleep quality was poor in 77.3%, and 65% reported multiple sleep problems. In patients with RA, a statistically significant association was observed between higher DAS28 and poor sleep quality (OR 3.06; 95% CI 1.37–6.84; p=0.006). The use of corticosteroids was associated with higher PSQI scores. There were no differences in sleep quality or PSQI according to pathology.

Conclusions: poor sleep quality was highly prevalent among patients with autoimmune diseases, especially in those with higher inflammatory activity. Incorporating sleep assessment into routine clinical practice is important.