Sleep disturbances and impaired daytime functioning in outpatients with newly diagnosed lung cancer

Background: Clinical experience suggests that lung cancer (LC) is associated with steep disturbances that may contribute to impaired daytime functioning and quality of life. Using questionnaires and home actigraphic recordings, we tried to determine whether steep quality and daytime alertness are impaired in patients with newly diagnosed LC. Patients and methods: Twenty-nine outpatients with newly diagnosed LC and an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status <= 2 and 14 age- and sex-matched non-cancer (NC) patients with successfully treated steep apnea were enrolled in the study. Steep quality was assessed by the Pittsburgh Steep Quality Index (PSQI) and by night actigraphic data. Daytime alertness was assessed by the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) and day actigraphic data. The medical outcomes study 36-item short form (SF-36) was used for quality of life assessment. Results: LC patients had higher PSQI (9.6 +/- 3.7 versus 5.6 +/- 3.2; p < 0.001) and higher ESS (8.6 +/- 3.7 versus 5.6 3.2; p=0.01) than NC patients indicating worse quality of steep and more excessive daytime sleepiness. Both physical and mental components score of SF-36 were tower in LC patients (p < 0.001) indicating lower quality of life. Wrist actigraphy data showed significantly tower steep efficiency and a higher steep fragmentation during the night and tower mean activity during the day in LC patients. Conclusions: Patients with newly diagnosed LC and performance status <= 2 present marked steep disturbances, excessive daytime sleepiness and impaired quality of life. Further studies are required to determine the etiologic factors of steep disturbances in LC patients and the impact of pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic interventions on steep and daytime functioning. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.