Original Investigation
Pathogenesis and Treatment of Kidney Disease
Association of Sleep-Related Problems With CKD in the United States, 2005-2008

https://doi.org/10.1053/j.ajkd.2011.05.024Get rights and content

Background

Sleep-related problems, which have been associated with poor health outcomes, have not been investigated thoroughly in people with chronic kidney disease (CKD). We examined the prevalence of a variety of sleep-related problems in persons with and without CKD.

Study Design

National cross-sectional survey (National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2005-2008).

Setting & Participants

Community-based survey of 9,110 noninstitutionalized US civilian residents 20 years or older.

Predictor

CKD, defined as estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) of 15-59 mL/min/1.73 m2 (stages 3 and 4) or eGFR ≥60 mL/min/1.73 m2 and albumin-creatinine ratio ≥30 mg/g (stages 1 and 2).

Outcome

Sleep quality, defined using self-report in a multi-item sleep questionnaire including items from previously validated instruments.

Measurements

Albuminuria and eGFR assessed from urine and blood samples; sleep, demographics, and comorbid conditions assessed using a standardized questionnaire.

Results

Inadequate sleep (≤6 hours per night) differed by CKD severity (37.4%, 43.0%, and 30.9% for no CKD, CKD stages 1 and 2, and CKD stages 3 and 4, respectively; P = 0.003). Frequent sleeping pill use (8.4%, 9.9%, and 16.6%), leg symptoms (39.2%, 48.0%, and 50.9%), and nocturia (20.9%, 35.2%, and 43.6%; P < 0.001 for all) also differed by CKD severity. After adjustment for age, sex, race/ethnicity, obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, the prevalence of these sleep-related problems remained higher in people with CKD stages 1 and 2 relative to no CKD. Most other measures of sleep quality, disorder, and functional outcomes did not differ by CKD.

Limitations

Inability to establish causality and possible unmeasured confounding.

Conclusion

Providers should be aware of early sleep-related CKD manifestations, including inadequate sleep, leg symptoms, and nocturia, and of the high rate of reported sleep medication use in this population.

Section snippets

Study Design

The NHANES is conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and consists of a standardized in-home interview followed by physical examination and blood and urine collection at a mobile examination center. NHANES is a representative sample of noninstitutionalized US civilian residents.26 This analysis was limited to 9,110 NHANES 2005-2008 participants who met the inclusion criteria: 20 years or older, respondent to the sleep

Characteristics of Study Population by CKD

As listed in Table 2, patients with CKD stages 3 and 4 were older and more likely to be women, have insurance, and be nonsmokers than those without CKD. Patients with CKD stages 1 and 2 were more likely to be non-Hispanic black than those without CKD and with CKD stages 3 and 4. Education and income levels and body mass index were higher in patients without CKD than those with CKD regardless of severity. Diabetes, hypertension, and CVD were more frequent with greater CKD severity. Depressive

Discussion

The prevalence of sleep-related problems in the US population generally was high. Many of the sleep symptoms examined, including prolonged sleep-onset latency/trouble falling asleep, frequent waking at night or too early, sleep-disordered breathing, snoring, diagnosed sleep disorders, and functional outcomes of sleep, did not differ by CKD severity. However, prevalence estimates for inadequate sleep, frequent daytime sleepiness, reported use of sleeping pills, leg symptoms, and nocturia were

Acknowledgements

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) CKD Surveillance Team consists of members from teams associated with the University of California, San Francisco (Neil Powe, Laura Plantinga, Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, Josef Coresh, Alan Go, Chi-yuan Hsu, Lesley Inker, Deidra Crews), University of Michigan (Rajiv Saran, Elizabeth Hedgeman, Brenda Gillespie, William Herman, Freidrich Port, Bruce Robinson, Vahakn Shahinian, Jerry Yee, Eric Young), and the CDC (Desmond Williams, Nilka Ríos

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