Sleep and quality of life in lung cancer patients and survivors.
Rachel E Martin, Dianne M Loomis, Grace E Dean
PMID 34225324WHAT IT FOUND
In 103 outpatient lung cancer patients and survivors, worse sleep and more severe lung cancer symptoms were linked to poorer quality of life.
Screening sleep and symptoms may help target care.
Key findings
01Poor sleep was common: 86.4% of participants were classified as poor sleepers, defined as a global PSQI score greater than 5.
02More severe lung cancer symptoms and worse sleep quality were significantly associated with poorer quality of life, and were the significant predictors in regression.
03Only clear thinking and chest tightness among lung cancer symptom items, and sleep quality, sleep medication use and daytime dysfunction among sleep subscales, were significant predictors.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The pooled sample was only 103 adults from outpatient clinics in the Northeastern United States, so results may not apply to all lung cancer patients or survivors. The data were cross-sectional, so the study cannot show that poor sleep or lung cancer symptoms cause lower quality of life. Sleep was measured only by self-report; no objective sleep measure such as actigraphy was used. The pooled studies had different designs and inclusion criteria, and one was a pilot feasibility treatment study, so the samples were not uniform. Participants who could not complete surveys, had known brain metastasis, or had untreated preexisting sleep disorders were excluded. The sample was mostly male, White, and had non-small cell lung cancer, which may limit applicability to other groups. The analysis tested several predictors and individual items, and the authors state that larger confirmatory studies are needed.
Declared interests
The authors report no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that poor sleep causes lower quality of life or that treating sleep will improve quality of life. This was a cross-sectional pooled analysis of associations in 103 patients and survivors, not a trial of a sleep intervention.