Background: Sleeping problems and depression are more common in patients with
chronic kidney disease (CKD) than the general population. The primary objective of this
cross-sectional study was to test factors associated with sleep disturbances, depression,
and quality of life among patients with CKD.
Methods: We recruited patients with CKD who lived in the St. John’s area from
September 2012 to December 2012. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), the
Berlin Questionnaire (BQ), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the Beck Depression
Inventory Fast-Screen for Medical Patients (BDI-FS), and the Short Form 36 Quality of
Life Health Survey Questions (SF-36) were administered to all participants. A chart
review was performed for the patients’ demographics, diagnoses, medication lists, and
certain laboratory parameters—including blood glucose, hemoglobin, albumin, calcium,
phosphate, parathyroid hormone, and estimated glomerular filtration rate (e-GFR).
Logistic regression models were employed to estimate odds ratios (OR) with 95%
confidence intervals (CI).
Results: The sample had a total of 303 patients (41% female and 99% Caucasian). One
hundred and seventeen (39%) patients were labeled as poor sleepers with the PSQI, while
157 (51.8%) patients had high risk for sleep apnea in the study cohort. Physical
component scores (PCS) and mental component scores (MCS) of the SF-36 questionnaire
were significantly lower in the dialysis group when compared to the non-dialysis group.
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A higher risk for impaired sleep was associated with being a female and on
antidepressants and/or benzodiazepine or non-benzodiazepine hypnotic agents.
Conclusions: Sleep problems and depression are common in kidney patients. Women are
more prone to sleeping problems than their male counter-parts. Furthermore, people who
have low MCS scores are more prone to impaired sleep or vice versa