Sleep problems are very prevalent among women with interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome. Some sleep disturbances experienced by patients with this condition are general in nature, rather than symptoms of the disorder itself.

Cover: Sleep Disturbances and Nocturnal Symptoms

Sleep Disturbances and Nocturnal Symptoms

Relationships with Quality of Life in a Population-Based Sample of Women with Interstitial Cystitis/Bladder Pain Syndrome

Published in: Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, v. 10, no. 12, Dec. 2014, p. 1331-1337

Posted on RAND.org on January 07, 2015

by Wendy M. Troxel, Marika Booth, Daniel J. Buysse, Marc N. Elliott, Anne M. Suskind, J. Quentin Clemens, Sandra H. Berry

Research Questions

  1. What is the nature and prevalence of sleep disturbances among women with interstitial cystitis/ bladder pain syndrome?
  2. Do sleep disturbances affect quality of life for women with interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome?

STUDY OBJECTIVES: To characterize the nature and impact of sleep disturbances on quality of life (QOL) in women with interstitial cystitis/ bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS). METHODS: Participants were 3,397 women from a telephone probability survey who met IC/BPS symptom criteria. Sleep quality, duration, and IC/BPS nocturnal symptoms (i.e., trouble sleeping due to bladder pain, urgency, or needing to use the bathroom), general QOL (mental and physical health and sexual functioning), and IC/BPS QOL impairment were assessed via self-report during telephone interview. RESULTS: Over half of the sample reported poor sleep quality, sleep duration

Key Findings

  • Sleep problems are very prevalent among women with interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome.
  • Some sleep disturbances experienced by patients with this condition are general in nature, rather than symptoms of the disorder itself.

Recommendation

Interventions to improve sleep could improve quality of life for this population.

Author Statement

Interstitial cystitis/ bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS) is a prevalent and debilitating chronic pain condition which disproportionately affects women. Although there has been a great deal of research on musculoskeletal pain conditions and sleep disturbances, there has been very little research on the nature or impact of sleep disturbances in populations with organ-specific pain conditions, such as IC/ BPS. \n\nIn this population-based sample of women with IC/ BPS symptoms, sleep problems, including short sleep duration, poor sleep quality, and disorder-specific nocturnal symptoms, were highly prevalent and were associated with greater impairment in quality of life. Findings suggest that augmenting IC/ BPS treatment strategies with sleep-focused treatments may improve quality of life in IC/ BPS patients.
Access further information on this document at Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine

This report is part of the RAND Corporation External publication series. Many RAND studies are published in peer-reviewed scholarly journals, as chapters in commercial books, or as documents published by other organizations.

The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis. RAND's publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors.