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Adults with sickle cell disease display sleep disordered breathing

Sleep disordered breathing, obstructive sleep apnea, and other sleep-related complaints were found to be prevalent in the adult sickle cell population when screened with the Epworth Sleepiness Scale, according to study results.

“We wanted to examine the reasons for the sleep disturbances as it can have a strong impact on our patients’ quality of life and overall health,” Sunil Sharma, MD, of Thomas Jefferson University, said in a press release. “We discovered a high incidence of sleep disordered breathing in patients with sickle cell disease, who also report trouble with sleep.”

Sunil Sharma

Sharma and colleagues conducted an analysis cohort on 32 patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) who underwent a sleep evaluation and overnight polysomnography (PSG) at East Carolina University from Jan. 2009 to April 2011.

Based on PSG results, 14 of the 32 patients were diagnosed with sleep disordered breathing (SDB). Patients with SDB had increased rapid eye movement latency (159 min. vs. 98 min; P = .014), increased oxygen desaturation index (13 vs. 1.6; P = .0009), and increased apnea-hypopnea index (17 vs. 1.6; P = .0001).

Twenty-one patients with SCD also reported having insomnia symptoms and 17 also displayed tendencies of delayed sleep phase syndrome.

The researchers indicated there were some limitations to the study such as small sample size and including only patients with symptoms of disturbed sleep or an increased Epworth Sleepiness Scale score.

Sharma said there are possible alternative methods in determining SDB in patients.

“Our study suggests that patients with sickle cell disorder should be screened using a questionnaire to identify problems with sleep,” Sharma said in the release. “For further testing, an oxygen desaturation index is another low-cost screening tool that can identify problems with sleep disordered breathing in this population.” – by Ryan McDonald

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.