Evaluation of Sleep Disorders in Wartime Chemically Injured Veterans with Sleep-Related Complaints: Self-Report vs. Polysomnographic Measures.

BACKGROUND: Sleep disorders are among the most common problems experienced by chemically injured veterans, affecting their quality of life and their general health. Therefore, we aimed to compare Polysomnography indices with data derived from the PSQI in chemically injured veterans in Iran in order to study the relationship between or independence of subjective complaints (self-reports) and objective data.

METHODS: In this study, 70 veterans were selected among chemically injured veterans who had referred to our clinic during 2012-2013 using the convenience sampling method. Objective and subjective sleep qualities were measured using the in-laboratory diagnostic Polysomnography method and the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), respectively. The two measured were then compared.

RESULTS: All the 70 assessed veterans in this study were male with a mean±SD age of 50.2±9.97. The mean±SD total score for the PSQI was 12.38±4.34. We found no significant relationship between the total PSQI score and age (r=-0.045, P=0.80), marital status (r=0.14, P=0.437), and occupational status (r=0.242, P=0.175). However, a negative significant relationship was found between the total PSQI score and educational status (r=-0.464, P=0.007). Moreover, we found a significant relationship between sleep quality according to Polysomnography and age (r=0.254, P=0.039). However, no such relationship was found with respect to marital status (r=0.2, P=0.1), occupational status (r=0.02, P=0.863), and educational status (r=0.047, P=0.71). We found no significant relationship between any of the parameters measured by Polysomnography with the scores obtained in the 7 subscales of the PSQI or its total score.

CONCLUSION: An individual's dissatisfaction with sleep quality does not necessarily indicate an objective sleep disorder. Objective evaluations alongside reports provided by friends and relatives play a key role in the correct diagnosis of sleep disorders in chemically injured veterans.