Journal of Scientific Research and Reports

Background: Sleep-related symptoms are common in chronic kidney disease and may be particularly burdensome for patients receiving haemodialysis. This study described subjective sleep quality, selected sleep-related symptoms, and contextual treatment and socioeconomic factors among patients receiving haemodialysis at an autonomous government nephrourology centre in South India. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional survey was conducted in a convenience sample of 162 patients receiving haemodialysis. Sleep was assessed by interview using items derived from the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), together with additional questions on daytime symptoms, dialysis frequency, transport, financial assistance, and selected treatment-related factors. Since complete seven-component PSQI scoring was not available, the analysis was restricted to item-level descriptive frequencies and did not assign a global PSQI classification or a formal sleep-disorder diagnosis. Results: Participants ranged from 10 to 83 years of age; 133 (82.1%) were male, and 158 (97.5%) received haemodialysis twice weekly. On the subjective sleep-quality item, 3.7% reported very good sleep, 89.5% fairly good sleep, 4.9% fairly bad sleep, and 1.9% very bad sleep. Twenty-three participants (14.2%) reported taking more than 30 minutes to fall asleep, and 23 (14.2%) reported sleeping less than 5 hours. Ten (6.2%) reported use of sleep medication, 11 (6.8%) reported recurrent daytime drowsiness, 17 (10.5%) reported symptoms suggestive of sleep-related breathing disturbance, and 10 (6.2%) reported awakening with breathlessness. Night-time bathroom use was common: 98 (60.5%) reported it once or twice per week and 9 (5.6%) three or more times per week. Conclusion: Item-level sleep complaints were present despite most participants rating overall subjective sleep quality as fairly good. In haemodialysis services, routine enquiry about sleep latency, short sleep, breathing-related symptoms, daytime sleepiness, and nocturnal awakenings may help identify patients requiring more detailed assessment. Questionnaire symptoms should not be interpreted as diagnoses without validated scoring and, where appropriate, objective sleep evaluation.