Abstract 1524P
Background
Insomnia has been reported to affect 30% to 60% of cancer patients, although conflicting data have been postulated regarding its potential triggering factors. The aim of our study was to evaluate the prevalence and to determine the main factors associated with cancer-related insomnia (CRI).
Methods
From October 2019 to February 2020, data were collected from a questionnaire distributed to 125 cancer patients on their last month’s sleep-quality. Insomnia severity was assessed using the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI). Data were processed using SPSS version 21.
Results
We interrogated 125 patients with a median age of 52 years old [17-78]. Most of them were women (69% vs 31%). Of the patients interviewed, 46.8% had breast cancer, 30% had gastro-intestinal malignancies, 4.8% had genitourinary cancers, 4%, had gynaecologic cancers and 14.4% had other neoplasms. Insomnia affected 55.6% of patients and was subthreshold in 23%, moderate in 27%, and severe in 5.6%. Age and comorbidities did not seem to trigger sleeping disorders (P=0.335 and P = 0.41, respectively). Compared to men, female patients were more likely to experience moderate to severe insomnia (MSI) (P=0.4) and to seek medical care for their sleep disorders (23% vs 11%, P=0.3). Disease stage did not appear to interfere with ISI scores (P=0.68), while time from diagnosis significantly affected sleep quality - patients during the first 6 months from diagnosis had an 8-fold increased risk of developing MSI (P=0.04). In these patients the main difficulties reported were falling asleep in 86%, maintaining sleep in 78% and experiencing early awakening in 64% of cases. Among patients presenting MSI, 27% reported pain-related insomnia-mainly due to post-mastectomy neuropathic pain in 71%, stoma irritation and bleeding in 12%, and bone and liver metastases-related pain in 12%. Insomnia management mainly consisted of sleep hygiene education in 56.4%, homeopathic remedies in 17% and benzodiazepines in 5% with enhanced pain management for patients with pain-related insomnia.
Conclusions
CRI is often under-diagnosed although it affects more than half of cancer carriers. During the first 6 months of diagnosis, patients exhibited an 8-fold increased risk of MSI. Management of insomnia in these patients should be integrated more effectively within cancer care.
Clinical trial identification
Editorial acknowledgement
Legal entity responsible for the study
The authors.
Funding
Has not received any funding.
Disclosure
All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.