Abstracts

Abstract

Purpose: The reciprocal influence between epilepsy and sleep disorders can worsen the prognosis for both processes. Was raised as a main objective of the present study, to screen the sleep disorders (SD) in patients with epilepsy and so be able to design an intervention plan. Method: Were surveyed 37 patients and 41 controls, with similar characteristics in gender and age. The questionnaire included, among other variables, Epworth sleepiness scale and SA-SDQ for sleep apnea. Result: 34% of epileptic patients has some sleep disorders (29% in controls, p<0.05). The most frequent one was symptoms of insomnia (40%), followed by the bruxism and restless legs syndrome. A 29% of patients have SA-SDQ altered suggestive of sleep apnea. A 13% recognized time of night-time sleep insufficient and 16% excessive daytime sleepiness. Epileptic patients with good control of crisis were correlated with better sleep hygiene (52% vs 25%), lowest sense of daytime sleepiness (36% vs75%) and lower BMI (26vs30) compared with patients with worst control of crisis. Conclusion: The frequency of sleep disorders is high, even higher than the control population, especially insomnia and probably sleep apnea. Data that allow us to increase the index of suspicion and intervene in these patients..