Sleep Quality in Hemodialysis Patients

Abstract

Background: The need for sleep is a part of basic human needs and their daily activities. Hemodialysis changes the quality of sleep, and poor sleep can have serious detrimental effects on health, possibly resulting in poorer quality of life. Purpose: The objective of this study was to evaluate sleep status and sleep quality of hemodialysis patients in Sivas, Turkey. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at the dialysis units in Sivas, Turkey between January 15 and June 15, 2007. 138 hemodialysis patients in hemodialysis units constituted the sample. The researchers administered to the patient group Sociodemographic Information Form and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. The following statistical analyses were used in order to evaluate the data: Student's t-test, Kruskall-Wallis test, Pearson Correlation test. Results: In our study, 91.3 % of patients expressed any complaint about sleep. These complaints are difficulty in beginning to sleep (40.5 %), frequent awakening (38.1 %) and sleeping during daytime (21.4). In this study 37.7 % of the patients were grouped as good sleepers (PSQI<5) and 62.3 % as poor sleepers. When we compared sociodemographic and clinical features with sleep characteristics we found that females experienced worse sleep quality than males, worse in unemployed than employed. Conclusions: The quality of sleep in patients undergoing HD are found to be decreased. Health professionals should be educated about sleep quality in hemodialysis patients and provide intervention when needed. The enhancing of sleep quality accelerates to the recovery from illness.