Dados do Trabalho

Título

Sleep quality and sleepiness in visually impaired volunteers

Introdução

The biological rhythm of the sleep-wake cycle is determined by some factors, specially, the light's sensory stimulation through vision. Thus, it is believed that the absence of light perception can negatively influence the visually impaired volunteers sleep.

Objetivo

The aim of the study was to evaluate sleep quality and sleepiness in volunteers with visual impairment.

Métodos

It was a cross-sectional study, conducted in a blind association center, between June and August 2019. The inclusion criteria were: visually impaired individuals, over 18 years. Written informed consent was obtained from all participants.
The instruments were a structured questionnaire for sociodemographic investigation, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESSE). Data were presented in mean ± standard deviation, the Student's t-test was used to assess the association between sleep quality and excessive daytime sleepiness variables with sociodemographic variables, considering p <0.05. Epi Info version 7.2 software was used.

Resultados

Seventeen volunteers participated, 58.8% male, with a mean age of 50.5 ± 16.4 years. Among them, 64.5% reported being able to distinguish a bright environment from a dark one. Nevertheless, 11.8% have some degree of vision in the left eye and no participant has degree of vision in the right eye. The average PSQI was 9.7 ± 5.3; 70.6% of the participants had a score greater than 5. The ESE mean was 7.8 ± 4.7. Statistical association was observed between PSQI scores and the presence of some degree of light perception in the left eye (p = 0.0156).

Conclusões

Visually impaired participants had poor sleep quality, which could be influenced by the degree of vision, but it could not be observed sleepiness.

Palavras-chave

blind, sleep quality, sleep.