Melody of sleep by sun: Association between serum vitamin D levels and sleep quality in ESRD patients.

Abstract

Background: Hemodialysis (HD) is a commonly employed treatment modality for chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients. It is also closely related to the sleep-wake cycle. It has both sleep-improving and deteriorating results. Sleep regulation is tightly coupled to vitamin D; hence, its deficiency might impact the duration and quality of sleep. This study intends to evaluate the association between sleep quality and serum vitamin D levels in HD patients. Objective: To assess the quality of sleep in patients with ESRD on routine HD and determine the association of vitamin D deficiency with sleep quality. Methodology: This cross-sectional analytical study was conducted on the patients presenting to the dialyzing centre of the Department of Nephrology, Holy Family Hospital, Rawalpindi, Pakistan, for twice-weekly routine hemodialysis, from May 2022 to June 2022.  Results: In this study, the quality of sleep in End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) patients on twice-weekly hemodialysis (HD) was assessed using the PSQI score. PSQI scores were associated with serum vitamin D levels in these patients. A significantly strong positive correlation existed between serum levels of 25-OH D and sleep quality (r = −0.468, p = 0.001). Conclusion: More than half of the patients undergoing routine hemodialysis could not sleep well at night. Among other related factors, vitamin D deficiency was an independent risk factor for poor sleep quality. Further studies are needed to determine the impact of vitamin D supplementation on improving sleep quality to strengthen the association between vitamin D levels and sleep disorders.