ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: We review the sleep problems of the alcohol dependence patients. Especially we are interested in the prevalence, the severity of symptoms, anxiety, depression, and sleep quality of restless legs syndrome (RLS) in the alcohol dependence patients. METHODS: We recruit 86 alcohol dependence patients who were admitted from October 6th, 2008 to October 17th, 2008. We interviewed each patient and evaluated sleep questionnaires such as the Sleep Disorder Questionnaire (SDQ), the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and the International Restless Legs Syndrome Study Group (IRLSSG) rating scale. The presence of RLS and its severity were assessed using the IRLSSG diagnostic criteria and the IRLSSG severity scale, respectively. Depression and anxiety were evaluated by the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the Beck anxiety inventory (BAI). RESULTS: Of all 86 patients, 59 patients have insomnia, 33 patients have RLS, 30 patients have Periodic limb movement disorder (PLMD), 29 patients have nightmare. RLS patients have more high score in the BAI (21.70+/-10.36 vs 14.67+/-11.98), and their sleep quality was poor in the PSQI (11.09+/-4.08 vs 7.92+/-3.91) than non-RLS patients. CONCLUSION: This study shows that alcohol dependence patients show many sleep problems such as insomnia and RLS. So we should notice that the sleep problems of alcohol dependence patients are important in clinical approach and treatment.