Burden of Sleep and Fatigue in U.S. Adults with Atopic Dermatitis

Articles

By Yu SH, Attarian H, Zee P, Silverberg JI

Published On: Apr 21, 2016

Last Updated On: Jul 15, 2021

Intense itch associated with atopic dermatitis (AD) can negatively impact sleep. However, the nature of sleep disturbance and fatigue in AD has not been fully elucidated.

Objectives

The aim of this study was to determine the burden of sleep disturbance and fatigue in U.S. adults with atopic dermatitis.

Methods

This study used a cross-sectional, questionnaire-based survey using a nationally representative sample of 5563 adults from the 2005 to 2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Respondents were asked about history of AD, sleep disturbance, and fatigue-related instrumental activity of daily living (IADL) impairment.

Results

There was no significant association between having AD and having a diagnosed sleep disorder (10.44% vs 7.27%; odds ratio [OR] [95% confidence interval (CI)], 1.49 [0.84-2.64]; P = 0.23); however, respondents were more likely to report sleep disturbances to clinicians (33.38% vs 23.67%; OR [95% CI], 1.62 [1.10-2.38]; P = 0.04). In multivariate regression models controlling for sociodemographic and lifestyle factors, adults with AD had higher odds of sleep disturbances, including shorter sleep duration (adjusted OR [95% CI], 1.61 [1.16-2.25]), trouble falling asleep (adjusted OR [95% CI], 1.57 [1.10-2.24]), and early morning awakenings (adjusted OR [95% CI], 1.86 [1.24-22.78]). Those with AD also had significantly higher odds of feeling unrested and feeling too tired to perform IADLs.

Conclusions

United States adults with AD have significantly impaired sleep and fatigue affecting IADLs, and sleep disturbances may be underdiagnosed in this population.

Source

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26983091

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