The critical influence of nocturnal breathing complaints on the quality of sleep after stroke: The pittsburgh sleep quality index and STOP-BANG

Abstract

In stroke patients particularly, many factors, such as sleep-related respiratory disturbances, can impair sleep. Cheap and easy-to-use tools have been created to identify sleep quality and sleep disturbances in patients after stroke. This study described the scores of the sleep apnea screening questionnaire – STOP-BANG – in patients after a stroke, and correlated the findings with sleep quality measured by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). The scores of the STOP-BANG and PSQI were 4.3 ± 1.8 and 7.6 ± 3.9, respectively. The STOP-BANG scores were higher in poor sleepers (4.5 ± 1.6 versus 3.5 ± 1.9; p = 0.032). Logistic regression analysis was used to identify predictors of subjective sleep quality (PSQI) and the STOP-BANG as a predictor of poor quality sleep, with a relative risk of 1.6, controlled for age and sex. This study indicated that sleep quality was largely influenced by sleep breathing problems, which were well identified by the STOP-BANG, especially in younger stroke patients.