Sleep disorders related to medical conditions

Sleep disorders related to medical conditions

Sleep disorders related to medical conditions

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Overview - When Sickness Steals Sleep

  • A prominent and severe sleep disturbance (e.g., insomnia, hypersomnolence) directly caused by the physiological effects of a general medical condition.
  • DSM-5 Criteria:
    • Evidence from history, physical exam, or labs confirms the link.
    • Not better explained by another mental or sleep disorder.
    • Does not occur exclusively during an episode of delirium.
  • Specify Type: Insomnia, Hypersomnolence, Parasomnia, or Mixed type.

High-Yield: Endocrine and neurological disorders are common culprits. For instance, hyperthyroidism often leads to insomnia due to ↑metabolic rate, while conditions like Parkinson's disease frequently disrupt sleep architecture.

Medical Causes - The Usual Suspects

  • Neurologic Disorders

    • Parkinson's Disease: Strong association with REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD).
    • Alzheimer's Disease: Presents with "sundowning," agitation, and sleep fragmentation.
    • Stroke: Can precipitate insomnia or sleep-disordered breathing.
    • Epilepsy: Nocturnal seizures disrupt sleep architecture.
  • Respiratory Conditions

    • COPD/Asthma: Nocturnal hypoxemia and frequent awakenings from dyspnea or cough.
    • Obstructive Sleep Apnea: Linked to anatomical obstruction (e.g., obesity, tonsillar hypertrophy).
  • Endocrine/Metabolic

    • Hyperthyroidism: Causes hyperarousal and insomnia.
    • Hypothyroidism: Associated with hypersomnolence and sleep apnea.
    • Diabetes: Sleep disturbed by nocturia, neuropathy, or nocturnal hypoglycemia.
  • Other Key Causes

    • Pain/Musculoskeletal: Fibromyalgia & arthritis cause pain-related arousals.
    • GI: GERD leads to nocturnal awakenings from reflux.

Fatal Familial Insomnia is a rare, inherited prion disease causing intractable insomnia, autonomic dysfunction, and dementia, ultimately leading to death.

Brain MRI: Thalamic Atrophy in Fatal Familial Insomnia

Iatrogenic Causes - Pills & Potions

  • Distinguish from substance-induced sleep disorder; here, sleep issue is a side effect, not the goal of use.
  • Insomnia-causing Medications:
    • Corticosteroids (prednisone)
    • β-blockers (propranolol)
    • SSRIs (fluoxetine) - often transient
    • Stimulants (methylphenidate)
    • Decongestants (pseudoephedrine)
  • Hypersomnolence-causing Medications:
    • 1st-gen antihistamines (diphenhydramine)
    • Benzodiazepines, Antipsychotics
  • Nightmare-causing Medications:
    • β-blockers
    • Dopamine agonists (L-DOPA)

⭐ Propranolol, a highly lipophilic beta-blocker, readily crosses the blood-brain barrier and is frequently implicated in causing vivid dreams and nightmares.

Workup & Management - Sleuthing for Sleep

  • History & Physical: Correlate timeline of medical illness and sleep symptoms.
  • Initial Steps:
    • Sleep Diary/Log: Patient-reported data over 2-4 weeks.
    • Actigraphy: Wrist-worn device providing objective sleep-wake cycle data.
  • Gold Standard Dx:
    • Polysomnography (PSG): Crucial to rule out primary sleep disorders (e.g., OSA, RLS) or characterize parasomnias (e.g., RBD).

⭐ Polysomnography is essential to differentiate a sleep disorder secondary to a medical condition from a primary sleep disorder (e.g., OSA) merely exacerbated by the illness.

Primary Goal: Always treat the underlying medical condition first.

High-Yield Points - ⚡ Biggest Takeaways

  • Always treat the underlying medical condition first as the primary management strategy.
  • Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is strongly linked to hypertension, atrial fibrillation, and insulin resistance.
  • Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) is frequently caused by iron deficiency anemia and chronic kidney disease.
  • REM Sleep Behavior Disorder (RBD) is a major prodromal symptom for α-synucleinopathies (e.g., Parkinson's).
  • Hyperthyroidism causes insomnia; hypothyroidism causes hypersomnolence.
  • Nocturnal panic attacks arise from REM sleep, unlike sleep terrors (NREM sleep).
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Practice Questions: Sleep disorders related to medical conditions

Test your understanding with these related questions

A 54-year-old man comes to the physician because of excessive daytime sleepiness for 5 months. He wakes up frequently at night, and his wife says his snoring has become louder. He is 180 cm (5 ft 10 in) tall and weighs 104 kg (230 lb); his BMI is 33 kg/m2. His pulse is 80/min and his respiratory rate is 11/min. His jugular venous pressure is 7 cm H2O. He has 2+ pitting edema of the lower legs and ankles. Arterial blood gas analysis on room air shows a pH of 7.42 and a PCO2 of 41 mm Hg. An x-ray of the chest shows normal findings. Which of the following is the most likely underlying cause of this patient's condition?

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Flashcards: Sleep disorders related to medical conditions

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Narcolepsy is characterized by nocturnal and narcoleptic sleep episodes that start with _____ sleep (sleep paralysis)

TAP TO REVEAL ANSWER

Narcolepsy is characterized by nocturnal and narcoleptic sleep episodes that start with _____ sleep (sleep paralysis)

REM

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