The Overlapping Burdens of Fatigue and Daytime Sleepiness: Gender-Specific Impacts on Life Quality in Patients with Sleep Disorders
Background: Excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) and fatigue are two impactful symptoms, frequently associated with sleep disorders, which can worsen the quality of life. Due to overlapping features and patient-report ambiguity a clear-cut distinction between EDS and fatigue can become a challenging i...
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MDPI AG
2025-05-01
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| author | Bianca Temporini Dario Bottignole Giulia Balella Giorgio Ughetti Irene Pollara Margherita Soglia Francesco Rausa Ylenia Ciuro Christian Franceschini Marcello Giuseppe Maggio Liborio Parrino Carlotta Mutti |
| author_facet | Bianca Temporini Dario Bottignole Giulia Balella Giorgio Ughetti Irene Pollara Margherita Soglia Francesco Rausa Ylenia Ciuro Christian Franceschini Marcello Giuseppe Maggio Liborio Parrino Carlotta Mutti |
| author_sort | Bianca Temporini |
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| description | Background: Excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) and fatigue are two impactful symptoms, frequently associated with sleep disorders, which can worsen the quality of life. Due to overlapping features and patient-report ambiguity a clear-cut distinction between EDS and fatigue can become a challenging issue. We aimed to investigate the prevalence and consequences of these two conditions in several sleep pathologies, examining their social, psychological, and dietary impact, with a focus on gender-related differences and occupational status. Methods: We prospectively recruited for an online survey 136 adult outpatients (60 females) affected by various sleep disorders and admitted to our Sleep Disorders Center in Parma, Italy. Patients were asked to complete the following tests: Epworth Sleepiness Scale, Fatigue Severity Scale, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale, Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21, Hyperarousal Scale, the Addiction-like Eating Behaviors Scale, Work Productivity and Activity Impairment Questionnaire, MEDI-Lite, and EQ-5D Health Questionnaire. Results:Fatigue was the primary daily symptom leading to serious repercussions on social/emotional and psychological well-being, while daytime sleepiness showed a less relevant role. Women reported higher levels of fatigue, sleep disturbances, emotional dysregulation, hyperarousal, and work productivity impairments. Unemployed people experienced a higher degree of fatigue, with multi-level negative consequences. Conclusions: We suggest sleep clinicians place a greater emphasis on the assessment of fatigue during clinical interviews, keeping in mind the greater vulnerability of females, experiencing disproportionate consequences. Further studies should expand our findings, exploring a wider range of gender identities and recruiting larger samples of patients. |
| format | Article |
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| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2079-9721 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Diseases |
| spelling | doaj-art-bae4665f0fb04c8ebf496cde9533bd852025-08-20T02:24:21ZengMDPI AGDiseases2079-97212025-05-0113617210.3390/diseases13060172The Overlapping Burdens of Fatigue and Daytime Sleepiness: Gender-Specific Impacts on Life Quality in Patients with Sleep DisordersBianca Temporini0Dario Bottignole1Giulia Balella2Giorgio Ughetti3Irene Pollara4Margherita Soglia5Francesco Rausa6Ylenia Ciuro7Christian Franceschini8Marcello Giuseppe Maggio9Liborio Parrino10Carlotta Mutti11Sleep Disorders Center, Department of Medicine and Surgery, Parma University Hospital, A. Gramsci Street 14, 43126 Parma, ItalySleep Disorders Center, Department of Medicine and Surgery, Parma University Hospital, A. Gramsci Street 14, 43126 Parma, ItalySleep Disorders Center, Department of Medicine and Surgery, Parma University Hospital, A. Gramsci Street 14, 43126 Parma, ItalySleep Disorders Center, Department of Medicine and Surgery, Parma University Hospital, A. Gramsci Street 14, 43126 Parma, ItalyMario Giovanni Terzano Interdepartmental Centre for Sleep Medicine, University of Parma, A. Gramsci Street 14, 43126 Parma, ItalyMario Giovanni Terzano Interdepartmental Centre for Sleep Medicine, University of Parma, A. Gramsci Street 14, 43126 Parma, ItalySleep Disorders Center, Department of Medicine and Surgery, Parma University Hospital, A. Gramsci Street 14, 43126 Parma, ItalySleep Disorders Center, Department of Medicine and Surgery, Parma University Hospital, A. Gramsci Street 14, 43126 Parma, ItalyMario Giovanni Terzano Interdepartmental Centre for Sleep Medicine, University of Parma, A. Gramsci Street 14, 43126 Parma, ItalyMario Giovanni Terzano Interdepartmental Centre for Sleep Medicine, University of Parma, A. Gramsci Street 14, 43126 Parma, ItalySleep Disorders Center, Department of Medicine and Surgery, Parma University Hospital, A. Gramsci Street 14, 43126 Parma, ItalySleep Disorders Center, Department of Medicine and Surgery, Parma University Hospital, A. Gramsci Street 14, 43126 Parma, ItalyBackground: Excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) and fatigue are two impactful symptoms, frequently associated with sleep disorders, which can worsen the quality of life. Due to overlapping features and patient-report ambiguity a clear-cut distinction between EDS and fatigue can become a challenging issue. We aimed to investigate the prevalence and consequences of these two conditions in several sleep pathologies, examining their social, psychological, and dietary impact, with a focus on gender-related differences and occupational status. Methods: We prospectively recruited for an online survey 136 adult outpatients (60 females) affected by various sleep disorders and admitted to our Sleep Disorders Center in Parma, Italy. Patients were asked to complete the following tests: Epworth Sleepiness Scale, Fatigue Severity Scale, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale, Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21, Hyperarousal Scale, the Addiction-like Eating Behaviors Scale, Work Productivity and Activity Impairment Questionnaire, MEDI-Lite, and EQ-5D Health Questionnaire. Results:Fatigue was the primary daily symptom leading to serious repercussions on social/emotional and psychological well-being, while daytime sleepiness showed a less relevant role. Women reported higher levels of fatigue, sleep disturbances, emotional dysregulation, hyperarousal, and work productivity impairments. Unemployed people experienced a higher degree of fatigue, with multi-level negative consequences. Conclusions: We suggest sleep clinicians place a greater emphasis on the assessment of fatigue during clinical interviews, keeping in mind the greater vulnerability of females, experiencing disproportionate consequences. Further studies should expand our findings, exploring a wider range of gender identities and recruiting larger samples of patients.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-9721/13/6/172sleep disordersgender-related issuespsychological distressfatiguesleepiness |
| spellingShingle | Bianca Temporini Dario Bottignole Giulia Balella Giorgio Ughetti Irene Pollara Margherita Soglia Francesco Rausa Ylenia Ciuro Christian Franceschini Marcello Giuseppe Maggio Liborio Parrino Carlotta Mutti The Overlapping Burdens of Fatigue and Daytime Sleepiness: Gender-Specific Impacts on Life Quality in Patients with Sleep Disorders Diseases sleep disorders gender-related issues psychological distress fatigue sleepiness |
| title | The Overlapping Burdens of Fatigue and Daytime Sleepiness: Gender-Specific Impacts on Life Quality in Patients with Sleep Disorders |
| title_full | The Overlapping Burdens of Fatigue and Daytime Sleepiness: Gender-Specific Impacts on Life Quality in Patients with Sleep Disorders |
| title_fullStr | The Overlapping Burdens of Fatigue and Daytime Sleepiness: Gender-Specific Impacts on Life Quality in Patients with Sleep Disorders |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Overlapping Burdens of Fatigue and Daytime Sleepiness: Gender-Specific Impacts on Life Quality in Patients with Sleep Disorders |
| title_short | The Overlapping Burdens of Fatigue and Daytime Sleepiness: Gender-Specific Impacts on Life Quality in Patients with Sleep Disorders |
| title_sort | overlapping burdens of fatigue and daytime sleepiness gender specific impacts on life quality in patients with sleep disorders |
| topic | sleep disorders gender-related issues psychological distress fatigue sleepiness |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-9721/13/6/172 |
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