Medical Student David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
Introduction: Sleep disturbances are a common complaint following traumatic brain injury (TBI). In healthy populations, sleep disturbances are associated with poorer cognitive functioning. Identifying relationships between sleep disturbances and cognitive functioning in TBI, a population at increased risk for cognitive dysfunction, may inform interventions. Here, we prospectively evaluated the relationship between sleep disturbances and attention in individuals with TBI and healthy controls.
Methods: Twenty-one individuals with TBI, of which 13 (61.9%) were male, with a mean age of 44.52 ± 17.07 years and a median Glasgow Outcome Scale – Extended score of 6 (range = 3-8) participated in this study on average 153.45 ± 44.83 days since date of injury. Ten healthy individuals, of which 5 (50%) were male, with a mean age of 52.10 ± 10.15 years served as controls. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) assessed sleep health and the Attention Network Test (ANT) measured attention. Independent sample t-tests evaluated group differences. Spearman rank-order correlations (rs) examined relationships between the PSQI and ANT in individuals with TBI.
Results: Individuals with TBI had significantly greater global sleep disturbances and sleep-related disturbances during daily activities compared to controls. In TBI, worse alerting efficiency on ANT was associated with greater global sleep disturbance (rs = -.48) and worse perceived sleep quality (rs = -.49), whereas worse sleep efficiency was associated with better conflict resolution on ANT (rs = -.57).
Conclusion : These data suggest a mixed relationship between sleep disturbances and attentional dysfunction in TBI. Further research may better characterize these associations to inform future interventions.
