Actigraphic measurements of sleep in rheumatoid arthritis: comparison of patients with low back pain and healthy controls.

Abstract

Actigraphic recordings during sleep were carried out in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), in patients with chronic low back pain, and in healthy controls for 4 consecutive nights. All derived measures of sleep quality showed that the sleep of patients with RA was significantly poorer than controls, while patients with chronic low back pain had sleep quality not significantly different from either group. Polysomnographically defined periodic movements in sleep were significantly related to sleep efficiency in patients with RA. Clinical status in these patients was significantly related to several actigraphic sleep measures.