Dados do Trabalho

Título

Pain during the night and its association with quality of life in women: data from the Epidemiologic Sleep Study (EPISONO)

Introdução

Sleep deprivation is associated with pain, even though this relationship has not been fully clarified. Women with pain present a reduction in sleep duration and quality of life, but the consequences of pain experienced at night are still open.

Objetivo

The goal of this study was to investigate and to compare levels of anxiety, depression, and fatigue in women with pain during the night with those without pain. Our hypothesis was that pain perception was associated with the worsening of fatigue and mood.

Métodos

This cross-sectional study used data from the 2007’s Epidemiologic Sleep Study (EPISONO). From the 574 women who took part in the EPISONO, a total of 244 women aged 20-80 years met the inclusion criteria, 82 in the pain group and 162 in the control group. The groups were distributed according to the presence of pain during the night, self-reported from both the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and the Pre-Sleep Questionnaire (PSQ). The participants went through a full night laboratory polysomnography, and completed questionnaires related to fatigue, depression, anxiety, and quality of life. All analyses were performed using the SPSS software version 26, with Bonferroni adjustment.

Resultados

The pain group had a significantly lower perception in all domains of quality of life, and significantly higher levels of fatigue (5.4 times), anxiety, and depression, compared to the control group. Pain perception was also correlated to levels of anxiety and depression in the psychological (Rs=-0.463, -0.607, respectively) and social (Rs=-0.423, -0.438, respectively) quality of life domains.

Conclusões

Pain during the night in women contributes to decreased quality of life and may worsen mood disorders and fatigue. Our data shows the importance of investigating pain and its deleterious effects, as well as women’s sleep patterns.

Palavras -chave

Sleep, Quality of life, Pain, Women, Polysomnography.