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Sleep disorders in Wilson’s disease: a questionnaire study

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Abstract

Objective

To examine the clinical characteristics and influencing factors related to sleep disorders in patients with Wilson’s disease (WD), and investigate its potential mechanisms.

Methods

A total of 150 patients with WD (76 hepatic, 42 neurological, 32 asymptomatic form) and 150 age- and sex-matched control subjects were investigated using 3 standardized sleep questionnaires. Differences among 3 subtypes were discussed.

Results

The mean Parkinson’s disease sleep scale (PDSS) score of WD was lower than the controls (Z =  − 4.426, P = 0.000), and their mean Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) score as well as Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) score of WD was higher than that of the controls (t = 2.005, P = 0.048; t = 3.342, P = 0.001). The incidence of excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) in WD group were significantly higher than the controls (X2 = 6.064, P = 0.014). Further analysis showed that total PDSS score of neurologic presentation group was lower than others (X2 = 6.131, P = 0.047), while the ESS score was higher (F = 3.817, P = 0.029). UWDRS showed a negative correlation with PDSS (r =  − 0.440, P = 0.022) and has a higher negative correlation with PDSS in neurologic presentation group (r =  − 0.732, P = 0.000).

Conclusions

Patients with WD often suffer from sleep disturbances, mainly characterized by difficulty falling asleep, difficulty staying asleep, nocturnal motor symptoms (numbness, cramps, tremor), and daytime dozing. And the incidence of EDS is significantly higher than that of the controls. Sleep quality is worse in patients with WD of neurologic presentation than the other two groups. Furthermore, the worse of the symptoms, patients with WD suffer more serious of the sleep disorders especially in neurologic presentation group.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurology, Taizhou People’s Hospital, Taizhou, Jiangsu, China

    Zhifei You

  2. Department of Neurosurgery, The Sixth People’s Hospital of Nantong, Nantong, Jiangsu, China

    Hui Xu & Zhonghua Wu

  3. Department of Emergency, Taizhou People’s Hospital, No. 366 Taihu Road, Taizhou, 225300, Jiangsu, China

    Zhengchen You

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  1. Zhifei You
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Correspondence to Zhengchen You.

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Ethical approval and Informed consent

All include patients gave their oral and written informed consent. The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Jiangsu Taizhou People’s Hospital.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Cite this article

You, Z., Xu, H., Wu, Z. et al. Sleep disorders in Wilson’s disease: a questionnaire study. Neurol Sci 44, 209–214 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10072-022-06401-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10072-022-06401-4

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