Original Paper

Sleep Quality Perception in the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Correlations with Sleep Efficiency, Affective Symptoms and Intensity of Fatigue
Daniel Neu^{a, b}, Olivier Mairesse^a, Guy Hoffmann^a, Amirouche Dris^d, Luc J. Lambrecht^c, Paul Linkowski^b, Paul Verbanck^a, Olivier Le Bon<sup>a

a</sup>Sleep Laboratory, University Hospital Brugmann, Université Libre de Bruxelles,
^bSleep Laboratory, University Hospital Erasme, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, and
^cDepartment of Internal Medicine, Biomed Flanders, Gent, Belgium;
^dSleep Unit, Department of Oto-Rhino-Llaryngology, Kirchberg Hospital, Luxembourg, Luxembourg

Address of Corresponding Author

Neuropsychobiology 2007;56:40-46 (DOI: 10.1159/000110727)

  Key Words

• Sleep quality
• Pittsburgh Sleep Quality index
• Chronic fatigue syndrome
• Affective symptoms

  Abstract

Background/Aims: One of the core symptoms of the chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is unrefreshing sleep and a subjective sensation of poor sleep quality. Whether this perception can be expressed, in a standardized questionnaire as the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), has to our knowledge never been documented in CFS. Furthermore, correlations of subjective fatigue, PSQI, affective symptoms and objective parameters such as sleep efficiency are poorly described in the literature. Methods: Using a cross-sectional paradigm, we studied subjective measures like PSQI, Fatigue Severity Scale scores and intensity of affective symptoms rated by the Hamilton Depression and Anxiety scales as well as objective sleep quality parameters measured by polysomnography of 28 'pure' (no primary sleep and no psychiatric disorders) CFS patients compared to age- and gender-matched healthy controls. Results: The PSQI showed significantly poorer subjective sleep quality in CFS patients than in healthy controls. In contrast, objective sleep quality parameters, like the Sleep Efficiency Index (SEI) or the amount of slow-wave sleep did not differ significantly. Subjective sleep quality showed a correlation trend with severity of fatigue and was not correlated with the intensity of affective symptoms in CFS. Conclusion: Our findings indicate that a sleep quality misperception exists in CFS or that potential nocturnal neurophysiological disturbances involved in the nonrecovering sensation in CFS are not expressed by sleep variables such as the SEI or sleep stage distributions and proportions.

Copyright © 2007 S. Karger AG, Basel

  Author Contacts

Dr. Daniel Neu, MD
Brugmann University Hospital U.L.B./V.U.B.
Sleep Laboratory U78 - Department of Psychiatry
4, Arthur Van Gehuchten Plaza, BE-1020 Brussels (Belgium)
Tel. +32 2 477 2554, Fax +32 2 477 2162, E-Mail daniel.neu@skynet.be

  Article Information

Received: January 12, 2007
Accepted after revision: August 18, 2007
Published online: November 6, 2007
Number of Print Pages : 7
Number of Figures : 0, Number of Tables : 2, Number of References : 36