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Sleep disturbance in cancer patients

Author

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  • Davidson, Judith R.
  • MacLean, Alistair W.
  • Brundage, Michael D.
  • Schulze, Karleen

Abstract

Sleep difficulty is a prominent concern of cancer patients, yet there has been no large study of the prevalence and nature of sleep disturbance in cancer patients. This cross-sectional survey study examined: (a) the prevalence of reported sleep problems in patients attending six clinics at a regional cancer centre; (b) sleep problem prevalence in relation to cancer treatment; and (c) the nature of reported insomnia (type, duration, and associated factors). For three months, all patients attending clinics for breast, gastrointestinal, genitourinary, gynecologic, lung, and non-melanoma skin cancers were offered a brief sleep questionnaire. Response rate was 87%; the final sample size was 982. Mean age of respondents was 64.9 years (SD 12.5). The most prevalent problems were excessive fatigue (44% of patients), leg restlessness (41%), insomnia (31%), and excessive sleepiness (28%). Chi square tests showed significant variation among clinics in the prevalence of most sleep problems. The lung clinic had the highest or second-highest prevalence of problems. The breast clinic had a high prevalence of insomnia and fatigue. Recent cancer treatment was associated with excessive fatigue and hypersomnolence. Insomnia commonly involved multiple awakenings (76% of cases) and duration [greater-or-equal, slanted]6 months (75% of cases). In 48% of cases, insomnia onset was reported to occur around the time of cancer diagnosis (falling within the period 6 months pre-diagnosis to 18 months post-diagnosis). The most frequently identified contributors to insomnia were thoughts, concerns, and pain/discomfort. In a multivariate logistic regression analysis, variables associated with increased odds of insomnia were fatigue, age (inverse relationship), leg restlessness, sedative/hypnotic use, low or variable mood, dreams, concerns, and recent cancer surgery. This study provides new information about sleep-related phenomena in cancer patients, information which will be useful in planning supportive care services for cancer patients.

Suggested Citation

  • Davidson, Judith R. & MacLean, Alistair W. & Brundage, Michael D. & Schulze, Karleen, 2002. "Sleep disturbance in cancer patients," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 54(9), pages 1309-1321, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:54:y:2002:i:9:p:1309-1321
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. SeemaVinayak & Farnaz Dehkhoda & RohinVinayak, 2017. "The Effect of Music Therapy on Sleep Quality of Cancer Patients Undergoing Chemotherapy or Radiotherapy: A Randomized control trial," Journal of Social Sciences (COES&RJ-JSS), , vol. 6(4), pages 734-743, October.
    2. Meral Demiralp & Fahriye Oflaz & Seref Komurcu, 2010. "Effects of relaxation training on sleep quality and fatigue in patients with breast cancer undergoing adjuvant chemotherapy," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 19(7‐8), pages 1073-1083, April.
    3. Xin Bao & Ping Ke, 2023. "Chaos, expansion, and contraction: The information worlds of depression patients during the COVID‐19 pandemic lockdown," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 74(8), pages 971-989, August.
    4. Irene Pinucci & Annalisa Maraone & Lorenzo Tarsitani & Massimo Pasquini, 2023. "Insomnia among Cancer Patients in the Real World: Optimising Treatments and Tailored Therapies," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(5), pages 1-12, February.
    5. Jin, L. & Ziebarth, N.R., 2015. "Sleep and Human Capital: Evidence from Daylight Saving Time," Health, Econometrics and Data Group (HEDG) Working Papers 15/27, HEDG, c/o Department of Economics, University of York.
    6. Suzanne Denieffe & Seamus Cowman & Martina Gooney, 2014. "Symptoms, clusters and quality of life prior to surgery for breast cancer," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 23(17-18), pages 2491-2502, September.
    7. Arber, Sara & Bote, Marcos & Meadows, Robert, 2009. "Gender and socio-economic patterning of self-reported sleep problems in Britain," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 68(2), pages 281-289, January.
    8. Antje Büttner-Teleagă & Youn-Tae Kim & Tiziana Osel & Kneginja Richter, 2021. "Sleep Disorders in Cancer—A Systematic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(21), pages 1-38, November.
    9. Ian Ruthven, 2022. "An information behavior theory of transitions," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 73(4), pages 579-593, April.

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