WESTCHESTER, Ill.— Patients with stage four cancer are more prone to disturbed sleeping patterns due to factors such as pain, treatment side effects and psychological causes, according to a study published in the June 1 issue of the journal SLEEP.
The study, conducted by Kyriaki Mystakidou, MD, PhD, and colleagues at the University of Athens, Greece, was completed by 102 patients with an average age of 62.8 years and who had stage four cancer. The subjects, who were subsequently followed for up to 10 months, were administered self-rated questionnaires, including an evaluation of one’s quality of sleep, quality of life, mental and physical component, and pain.
The findings indicate a relationship between poor sleep quality and the functional performance, mental health, and pain status of cancer patients.
“The current findings could be of clinical importance, since in cancer, an initial sign of a symptom may hint the underlying cause of that symptom and, thus, indicating the need of a more effective symptom management,” said Mystakidou. “Poor sleep quality must be taken into account when treating cancer patients. Clinicians must appreciate the often multifactorial nature of sleep disruptions in order to achieve a better and more efficacious treatment regimen.”
SLEEP is the official journal of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies, LLC, a joint venture of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) and the Sleep Research Society.
SleepEducation.org, a website maintained by the AASM, provides information about the various sleep disorders that exist, the forms of treatment available, recent news on the topic of sleep, sleep studies that have been conducted and a listing of sleep facilities.
For a copy of this article, entitled, “The Relationship of Subjective Sleep Quality, Pain, and Quality of Life in Advanced Cancer Patients”, or to arrange an interview with an AASM spokesperson regarding this study, please contact Jim Arcuri, public relations coordinator, at (708) 492-0930, ext. 9317, or jarcuri@aasm.org.
SLEEP 2007, the 21st Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies (APSS) and the world’s largest annual gathering of sleep scientists and sleep medicine professionals, will take place in Minneapolis, Minn., from June 11-14, 2007. SLEEP 2007 will bring together an international body of 5,000 leading researchers and clinicians, who will present and discuss over 1,100 new findings and medical developments related to sleep and sleep disorders.
The deadline to register is Friday, June 1, 2007. Contact Jim Arcuri at (708)492-0930, ext. 9317, or jarcuri@aasm.org for more information or to register for a press pass. More details, including the program schedule and a list of invited lecturers, are available on the APSS Web site, www.apss.org.
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