Abstract

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common respiratory ailment with persistent airflow limitation associated with an enhanced chronic inflammatory response in airways and lungs to noxious particles or gases. This study aims to observe the sleep quality in these cases as it is known that most of them suffer from disturbed sleep.

Aims and Objectives: The aims of this study were to assess the sleep quality in stable patients of COPD and compare with healthy controls.

Material and Methods: This cross-sectional observational study was approved by ICMR and IEC and conducted in the department of Physiology and the Department of TB and Chest Medicine, Lady Hardinge Medical College, New Delhi. In this study, 33 clinically stable COPD patients and 33 normal subjects as controls were included in the study. Then, a detailed history including the demographic characteristics was recorded. Then, Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) Questionnaire (Hindi version was obtained from MAPI organization) was recorded by direct interview before lung functions were assessed by Spirometry.

Results: In his study, COPD was found predominantly in male subjects compared to females. Poor sleep was found in majority of COPD cases. The median global PSQI scores were much higher in COPD cases compared to controls and the difference between them was statistically highly significant (P < 0.001).

Conclusion: This study shows that the prevalence of poor sleep quality among COPD patients of urban Delhi is very high. Limitations are small sample size and hospital-based subjects and lack of polysomnography.

Key words: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease; Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index; Sleep Quality