ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: Narcolepsy with cataplexy is a rare chronic sleep disorder characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness, cataplexy, sleep paralysis, and hypnagogic/hypnopompic hallucinations. The aims of the present study were comparing the health-related quality of life (HR-QOL) of patients with type I and type II narcolepy patients, and determining the factors that influence the HR-QOL in narcolepsy patients. METHODS: All patients performed night polysomnography (PSG) and multiple sleep latency test (MSLT). HR-QOL and the severity of subjective symptoms were evaluated using various questionnaires, including the Korean versions of the Medical Outcome Study Short Form-36, the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index-Korean version, the Korean version Epworth Sleepiness Scale, and the Korean version Beck Depression Inventory-2. RESULTS: We enrolled 21 type I narcolepsy patients and 27 type II patients. Type I patients had short rapid eye movement (REM) latency on night PSG and more sleep onset REM periods on MSLT. The total score of HR-QOL was worse in patients with type I narcolepsy than in the type II narcolepsy patients. There was association between the severities of excessive daytime sleepiness, depression and the degree of worsening of QOL. CSF hypocretin level had no correlation with the scores of HR-QOL. CONCLUSIONS: These findings demonstrate that type I narcolepsy patients are sleepier, depressive, and have more burden on the HR-QOL. And the impairment in QOL of narcolepsy patients is related to the degree of excessive daytime and depressive mood.