Daytime sleep disorders among patients with Parkinson’s disease in a tertiary medical centre in Kano, Northwestern Nigeria

Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is commonly associated with sleep disorders, which may manifest years before disease diagnosis. Excessive Daytime Sleepiness (EDS) is a common problem seen in People with PD (PwPD) which is found to worsen by the presence of concomitant insomnia (sleep fragmentation, shortened sleep duration, early awakening) and anti-Parkinson’s medications. Identifying its presence and provision of appropriate intervention could significantly improve their Quality of Life (QoL).

Using a cross-sectional study design, 100 PwPD and 100 healthy controls were enrolled over a period of 10 months to assess the prevalence of EDS using the Scales for Outcome in Parkinson’s Disease-Sleep (SCOPA-S) diagnostic tool.

The SCOPA-S index questionnaire identified EDS in 64% of PwPD who have significant daytime sleepiness, including falling asleep unexpectedly either during the day or in the evening (U=1722.5, p<0.05), while sitting peacefully (U=279, p<0.05) or while talking to someone (U=2652, p<0.05) or had trouble staying awake during the day or in the evening (U=2769, p<0.05) in the past 1 month when compared to their controls. However, falling asleep while reading or watching television (U=3451.5, p=0.08) and whether patient perceives falling asleep during the day in the last one month as a problem (U=3473, p=0.064) did not differ between the 2 groups.

The high prevalence of excessive daytime sleepiness among PwPD from the study should prompt all physicians on early detection aimed at improving their overall care and quality of life.