How Does Psoriatic Arthritis Affect Sleep?

Between 30% and 85% of patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) suffer from poor and interrupted sleep, insomnia, and breathing problems during sleep, according to recent research published in the Journal of Rheumatology.

“Sleep disturbance was ranked in the top 4 health-related quality of life domains affected by PsA,” the investigators explained. “One study suggested a bidirectional relationship between PsA and obstructive sleep apnea.”

For the systematic review and meta-analysis, the researchers identified 36 eligible studies in PubMed and EMBASE and conducted a more detailed investigation of 6 studies using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI).

Using the PSQI, patients self-report their sleep habits and difficulties through a series of questions about their sleep duration, sleep schedules, snoring, awake times during the night and stress levels.

The results revealed that 72.9% of the patients with PsA do not sleep well through the night. All these patients reported waking up in the morning feeling tired and inadequately rested.

Compared to this, 59.8% of patients with psoriasis (PsO) reported poor sleep, and 26.9% of patients with neither PsO nor PsA had sleep problems.

Reference:
Grant C, Ogdie A, Merola J et al. Sleep problems in patients with psoriatic arthritis: A systematic literature review and meta-analysis. The Journal of Rheumatology. Published online: May 1, 2023. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3899/jrheum.2022-1169