The Burden of Sleep Problems: A Pilot Observational Study in an Ethnically Diverse Urban Primary Care Setting

Do both the research community and the general public share an interest in the sleep-pain relationship, and do they influence each other?

Introduction

Chronic pain and sleep disturbance bidirectionally influence each other in a negative spiral. Although this academic knowledge is known by researchers, it is imperative to bridge it over to the general public because of its applied implications. However, it is unclear how academia and the general public reciprocally shape each other in terms of knowledge of the sleep-pain relationship. The purpose of this study was (1) to assess the longitudinal trajectories of research on the sleep-pain relationship and the general public's interest in this topic and (2) to examine whether the academic interest leads to the general public's interest, or vice versa.

Methods

We used a Big Data approach to gather data from scientific databases and a public search engine. We then transformed these data into time trends, representing the quantity of published research on, and the general public's interest in, the sleep-pain relationship. The time trends were visually presented and analyzed via dynamic structural equation modeling.

Results

The frequency of both published articles and searches soared after 2004. Published research leads to an increased interest in the sleep-pain relationship among the general public but does not predict more published articles. Furthermore, the general public's interest reinforces itself over time but does not predict published research.

Conclusion

These results are encouraging because it is essential for research on the sleep-pain relationship to reach a broader audience, beyond the walls of academia. However, to prevent a potential alienation between academic and practical knowledge, we encourage openness among researchers to being inspired by the general public's knowledge of the sleep-pain relationship.

Planetary sleep medicine: Studying sleep at the individual, population, and planetary level

Circadian rhythms are a series of endogenous autonomous oscillators that are generated by the molecular circadian clock which coordinates and synchronizes internal time with the external environment in a 24-h daily cycle (that can also be shorter or longer than 24 h). Besides daily rhythms, there exist as well other biological rhythms that have different time scales, including seasonal and annual rhythms. Circadian and other biological rhythms deeply permeate human life, at any level, spanning from the molecular, subcellular, cellular, tissue, and organismal level to environmental exposures, and behavioral lifestyles. Humans are immersed in what has been called the "circadian landscape," with circadian rhythms being highly pervasive and ubiquitous, and affecting every ecosystem on the planet, from plants to insects, fishes, birds, mammals, and other animals. Anthropogenic behaviors have been producing a cascading and compounding series of effects, including detrimental impacts on human health. However, the effects of climate change on sleep have been relatively overlooked. In the present narrative review paper, we wanted to offer a way to re-read/re-think sleep medicine from a planetary health perspective. Climate change, through a complex series of either direct or indirect mechanisms, including (i) pollution- and poor air quality-induced oxygen saturation variability/hypoxia, (ii) changes in light conditions and increases in the nighttime, (iii) fluctuating temperatures, warmer values, and heat due to extreme weather, and (iv) psychological distress imposed by disasters (like floods, wildfires, droughts, hurricanes, and infectious outbreaks by emerging and reemerging pathogens) may contribute to inducing mismatches between internal time and external environment, and disrupting sleep, causing poor sleep quantity and quality and sleep disorders, such as insomnia, and sleep-related breathing issues, among others. Climate change will generate relevant costs and impact more vulnerable populations in underserved areas, thus widening already existing global geographic, age-, sex-, and gender-related inequalities.

Superwomen and Sleep: an Assessment of Black College Women Across the African Diaspora

BACKGROUND

Women and racial/ethnic minority groups in the U.S. report poor sleep health. While stress and alcohol use may contribute to sleep problems, few studies have examined the roles of stress and alcohol use on sleep among Black college women. Gender-racial ideology of Black womanhood may also play a role in sleep. This exploratory study sought to examine the relationships between stress, alcohol, ethnic-gender identity, and sleep.

METHOD

Guided by the biopsychosocial model and intersectionality theory, a cross-sectional study design recruited undergraduate women (18-24 years) attending a Historically Black College and University (HBCU) who self-identified as Black (N = 110). Participants completed the Insomnia Severity Index, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Perceived Stress Scale, Alcohol Use Disorders Test, and Giscombe Superwoman Schema Questionnaire. Univariate and multiple linear regressions were conducted to examine independent and multiple effects of stress, alcohol, and ethnic-gender identity on insomnia and sleep quality.

RESULTS

Participants (mean age 19.4 years) represented diverse ethnic groups, 53% American, 25% African, and 20% Caribbean. Nearly 23% reported moderate to severe levels of insomnia. Scores from the Perceived Stress Scale, the Alcohol Use Disorders Test, and the Giscombe Superwoman Schema Questionnaire were independently associated with insomnia and sleep quality. In multivariate analyses, only perceived stress exhibited a significant association with insomnia and sleep quality.

CONCLUSION

This exploratory study demonstrated that stress, excessive alcohol use, and ethnic-gender identity have relational impact on sleep health. Yet, stress may have greater importance and further research is needed to explore factors that mediated the relationship between stress and sleep.

Examining Sleep Quality Following Sleeve Gastrectomy Among Patients with Loss-of-Control Eating

BACKGROUND

Sleep is associated with post-bariatric surgical outcomes; however, little is known about sleep in bariatric patients with loss-of-control (LOC) eating, a consistent predictor of poorer weight outcomes. This study examined sleep quality and clinical correlates in sleeve gastrectomy patients with LOC eating.

METHODS

Participants (N = 145) were treatment-seeking post-operative sleeve gastrectomy patients with LOC eating. Eating-disorder features were assessed with the Eating Disorder Examination-Bariatric Surgery Version Interview (EDE-BSV) and participants completed established measures assessing sleep, health-related quality of life, perceived stress, depression, and night eating.

RESULTS

58.6% of participants were characterized with "poor" sleep. Poor sleep quality was significantly associated with greater eating-disorder psychopathology, physical and mental functioning, night eating, perceived stress, and less % excess weight loss (EWL); these findings remained significant after controlling for %EWL and race. Regression analyses, adjusting for correlated variables, revealed that sleep quality significantly predicted mental functioning.

CONCLUSIONS

Poor sleep quality was common among post-operative sleeve gastrectomy patients with LOC eating. Sleep quality was significantly associated with eating-disorder psychopathology, less post-operative weight loss, and psychosocial and physical functioning problems. These findings suggest the importance of assessment and treatment of sleep problems following sleeve gastrectomy.

CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION

ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT02259322.

Implementing protocol for obstructive sleep apnea screening in the primary care setting

AIM

1) To implement obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) screening of at -risk patients in a primary care setting; 2) to evaluate and refer screened participants to sleep studies since early identification of OSA symptoms is an important initial step in reducing the burden of undiagnosed OSA disease.

METHOD

Participants completed the STOP-Bang questionnaire and those considered to be at risk were referred for sleep studies for disease identification, categorization, and treatment.

RESULTS

Prevalent OSA screening and referral rates at the clinic prior to project implementation was 3% and 0% respectively, compared to the corresponding rates of 43% and 39% post project implementation. Out of 187 participants screened between January and April 2018, 61% had scores of 3 and higher on the STOP-Bang questionnaire, however, only 39% of the at-risk participants agreed to undergo sleep studies. Those who declined sleep study referrals were mostly participants who were not experiencing higher burden of sleep deprivation. Out of 45 participants who underwent sleep studies, 67% were diagnoses with moderate to severe OSA with recommendations to initiate continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine therapy.

CONCLUSION

Most primary care providers do not routinely screen at-risk patients for OSA despite existing clinical practice guideline recommending early and accurate diagnosis of OSA for this population. The Stop -Bang screening tool can reliably predict the presence of moderate to severe OSA. Early identification of OSA risks in the primary care setting through routing screening is very imperative in order to minimize its effects on cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. The obtained results highlight the potentially high unmet need for screening and treatment of OSA in the primary care setting.