Poor sleep quality among newly diagnosed head and neck cancer patients: prevalence and associated factors

• Published in: Supportive care in cancer Vol. 29; no. 2; pp. 1035 - 1045
• Main Authors: Santoso, Angelina M. M., Jansen, Femke, Lissenberg-Witte, Birgit I., Baatenburg de Jong, Robert J., Langendijk, Johannes A., Leemans, C. René, Smit, Johannes H., Takes, Robert P., Terhaard, Chris H. J., van Straten, Annemieke, Verdonck-de Leeuw, Irma M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.02.2021; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Cancer; Cancer patients; Care and treatment; Cohort Studies; Comorbidity; Cross-Sectional Studies; Diagnosis; Female; Head & neck cancer; Head and Neck Neoplasms - complications; Health psychology; Humans; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Medical diagnosis; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Middle Aged; Nursing; Nursing Research; Oncology; Original; Original Article; Pain Medicine; Prevalence; Prospective Studies; Rehabilitation Medicine; Risk Factors; Sleep; Sleep disorders; Sleep Wake Disorders - etiology; Sleep quality; Head and neck cancer; Newly diagnosed; Before treatment
• ISSN: 0941-4355; 1433-7339; 1433-7339
• DOI: 10.1007/s00520-020-05577-9

Background Head and neck cancer (HNC) patients often suffer from distress attributed to their cancer diagnosis which may disturb their sleep. However, there is lack of research about poor sleep quality among newly diagnosed HNC patients. Therefore, our aim was to investigate the prevalence and the associated factors of poor sleep quality among HNC patients before starting treatment. Materials and methods A cross-sectional study was conducted using the baseline data from NET-QUBIC study, an ongoing multi-center cohort of HNC patients in the Netherlands. Poor sleep quality was defined as a Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) total score of > 5. Risk factors examined were sociodemographic factors (age, sex, education level, living situation), clinical characteristics (HNC subsite, tumor stage, comorbidity, performance status), lifestyle factors, coping styles, and HNC symptoms. Results Among 560 HNC patients, 246 (44%) had poor sleep quality before start of treatment. Several factors were found to be significantly associated with poor sleep: younger age (odds ratio [OR] for each additional year 0.98, 95% CI 0.96–1.00), being female (OR 2.6, 95% CI 1.7–4.1), higher passive coping style (OR 1.18, 95% CI 1.09–1.28), more oral pain (OR 1.10, 95% CI 1.01–1.19), and less sexual interest and enjoyment (OR 1.13, 95% CI 1.06–1.20). Conclusion Poor sleep quality is highly prevalent among HNC patients before start of treatment. Early evaluation and tailored intervention to improve sleep quality are necessary to prepare these patients for HNC treatment and its consequences.