Sleep disruption among cancer patients following autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation

Bone Marrow Transplant. 2018 Mar;53(3):307-314. doi: 10.1038/s41409-017-0022-3. Epub 2017 Dec 21.

Abstract

Despite a high prevalence of sleep disruption among hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) recipients, relatively little research has investigated its relationships with modifiable cognitive or behavioral factors or used actigraphy to characterize sleep disruption in this population. Autologous HCT recipients who were 6-18 months post transplant completed self-report measures of cancer-related distress, fear of cancer recurrence, dysfunctional sleep cognitions, and inhibitory sleep behaviors upon enrollment. Patients then wore an actigraph for 7 days and completed a self-report measure of sleep disruption on day 7 of the study. Among the 84 participants (age M = 60, 45% female), 41% reported clinically relevant sleep disruption. Examination of actigraph data confirmed that, on average, sleep was disrupted (wake after sleep onset M = 66 min) and sleep efficiency was less than recommended (sleep efficiency M = 78%). Cancer-related distress, fear of recurrence, dysfunctional sleep cognitions, and inhibitory sleep behaviors were related to self-reported sleep disruption (p values<0.05) but not objective sleep indices. Results suggest that many HCT recipients experience sleep disruption after transplant. Cancer-related distress, fear of recurrence, dysfunctional sleep cognitions, and maladaptive sleep behaviors are related to self-reported sleep disruption and should be considered targets for cognitive behavioral intervention in this population.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Actigraphy
  • Aged
  • Female
  • Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation / adverse effects*
  • Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation / psychology
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Neoplasms / complications
  • Neoplasms / psychology
  • Neoplasms / therapy
  • Self Report
  • Sleep Wake Disorders / etiology*
  • Sleep Wake Disorders / psychology
  • Transplantation, Autologous / adverse effects