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Factors Associated with Poor Sleep in Older Adults with Multiple Sclerosis

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Abstract

Purpose

Canada has the highest rate of multiple sclerosis (MS) in the world. Sleep disturbance in individuals with MS is approximately four times higher than in the general population. This is concerning given that poor sleep quality negatively affects one’s mental and physical well-being. The objectives of this study are (1) to document the prevalence of sleep problems in a Canadian sample of older individuals living with MS, (2) to identify demographic and clinical factors associated with poor sleep, and (3) to investigate the potential impact of possible sleep-promoting and sleep-interfering medications.

Method

This study is a secondary analysis of sleep and related variables from the Canadian survey of health, lifestyle, and aging with multiple sclerosis study. The survey consists of 743 Canadians 55 years or older with a diagnosis of MS. We asked participants, “In the past 2 weeks, how much have you been bothered by problems sleeping?”

Results

Overall, 43% of patients with MS reported problems sleeping. The strongest associations were found between poor sleep and number of comorbidities, clinically significant anxiety, and a greater perceived impact of physical symptoms of MS on functioning.

Conclusion

Sleep problems are prevalent in individuals with MS. Individuals who had clinically significant levels of anxiety were roughly two times more likely to have trouble sleeping when compared to individuals without anxiety. Efforts should focus on early identification and effective interventions for poor sleep in individuals living with MS.

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Acknowledgements

The study was supported by the MS Society of Canada and local chapters, provincial MS clinic neurologists, MS nurses, administrative and research staff, and the Rehabilitation and Continuing Care Program, Eastern Health Authority.

We thank the Health, Lifestyle and Aging with MS Canadian Consortium: Nancy Mayo, PhD; John D. Fisk, PhD; A. Dessa Sadovnick, PhD; Paul O’Connor, MD, FRCPC; Sarah A. Morrow, MD, FRCPC; Katherine B. Knox, MD, FRCPC; Luanne M. Metz, MD, FRCPC; Penelope Smyth, MD, FRCPC; Ruth Ann Marrie, MD, PhD; Serge Beaulieu; Chelsea Harris BKin, MPH; Penelope W. Alderdice, PhD; Mark Stefanelli, MD FRCPC; and Marshall Godwin, MD.

We specifically acknowledge the work of site coordinators: Chelsea Harris, Stephen Hogan, Olivia Manning, Olivia Drodge, Trudy Campbell, Heather Rosehart, Amy Cuthbertson, Darren Nickel, Pam Dumont, Madonna de Lemos, Deborah Goldberg, Irene Yee, Nicholas Hall, Maureen Perera, Sarah Williamson, Carolina Moriello, and Vanessa Bouchard.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Faculty of Science, Memorial University, St. John’s, NL, Canada

    Sheila N. Garland & Samantha R. M. Scurrey

  2. Division of Oncology, Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University, St. John’s, NL, Canada

    Sheila N. Garland

  3. Recovery and Performance Laboratory, Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University, St. John’s, NL, Canada

    Michelle Ploughman

Authors
  1. Sheila N. Garland
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  2. Samantha R. M. Scurrey
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  3. Michelle Ploughman
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The Health, Lifestyle and Aging with MS Canadian Consortium

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sheila N. Garland.

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Funding

This study was funded by a Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR) post-doctoral fellowship (MP), Newfoundland and Labrador Applied Health Research Healthy Aging Project Grant, the Health Care Foundation Project Grant (Eastern Health Authority), and the Physiotherapy Foundation of Canada Alberta Research Award.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. This article does not contain any studies with animals performed by any of the authors.

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Garland, S.N., Scurrey, S.R.M., Ploughman, M. et al. Factors Associated with Poor Sleep in Older Adults with Multiple Sclerosis. Int.J. Behav. Med. 24, 937–945 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12529-017-9653-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12529-017-9653-4

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