Sleep Disorders and Psychological Profile in Oral Cancer Survivors: A Case-Control Clinical Study

Quality of sleep (QoS) and mood may impair oral cancer survivors’ wellbeing, however few evidences are currently available. Therefore, we aimed to assess the prevalence of sleep disorders, anxiety and depression among five-year oral cancer survivors (OC survivors). 50 OC survivors were compared with 50 healthy subjects matched for age and sex. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), the Hamilton Rating Scales for Depression and Anxiety (HAM-D, HAM-A), the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS), the Total Pain Rating Index (T-PRI) were administered. The global score of the PSQI, ESS, HAM-A, HAM-D, NRS, T-PRI, was statistically higher in the OC survivors than the controls (p-value: <0.001). QoS of OC survivors was significantly impaired, especially with regard to some PSQI sub-items as the subjective sleep quality, sleep latency and daytime dysfunction (p-value: 0.001, 0.029, 0.004). Moreover, poor QoS was negatively correlated with years of education (p-value: 0.042 *) and positively correlated with alcohol consumption (p-value: 0.049 *) and with the use of systemic medications (p-value: 0.044 *). Sleep disorders and mood disorders are common comorbidities in OC survivors; therefore, early assessment and management before, during and after treatment should be performed in order to improve the quality of life of OC survivors.