ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Neurol.
Sec. Multiple Sclerosis and Neuroimmunology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fneur.2025.1608802
Characteristics and Correlations of Sleep Disorders in Patients with Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis in China: A Cross-Sectional Study
Provisionally accepted
Rongrong Wang1
Teng'teng Zhang1
Han Wang1Yao Ren1Runze Zhao2Gaopan Zhang1
Guoxun Zhang1*
Xiongfei Zhao1*- 1Xianyang Hospital of Yan 'an University, Xianyang, China
- 2Xijing Hospital, Air Force Medical University, Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, China
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Background: Sleep disorders are a major but overlooked symptom in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). Objectives: This article aims to investigate the characteristics of sleep disorders in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) and to analyze the correlations between sleep disorders in RRMS and anxiety, depression, fatigue, and cognitive impairment. Methods: A total of 35 patients with RRMS and 35 controls were included, and both groups underwent assessments for sleep, anxiety, depression, fatigue, and cognitive function. Results: The RRMS group and the control group showed significant differences in Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS), Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA), Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD), Modified Fatigue Impact Scale (MFIS), and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). The group with poor sleep quality (PSQI > 5) had significantly higher scores on the AIS, ISI, HAMA, and HAMD Scale compared to the group with good sleep quality (P=0.036, P<0.001, P=0.036, P=0.054). The PSQI showed a negative correlation with disease duration; the PSQI showed a positive correlation with HAMA, HAMD, and Activities of Daily Living (ADL); AIS, ISI, and Sleep Hygiene Awareness and Practice Scale (SHAPS) all demonstrated significant positive correlations with MFIS, HAMA, and HAMD; Dysfunctional Beliefs and Attitudes about Sleep Scale (DBAS) showed a negative correlation with HAMA and HAMD. Conclusions: Sleep disorders, fatigue, anxiety, depression, and cognitive impairments are more likely to occur in patients with RRMS; there is a certain correlation between PSQI, AIS, ISI, SHAPS, and DBAS scores in the RRMS group and fatigue, anxiety, and depression.
Keywords: relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, Sleep Disorders, Fatigue, Anxiety, Depression, Cognitive disorder
Received: 09 Apr 2025; Accepted: 04 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wang, Zhang, Wang, Ren, Zhao, Zhang, Zhang and Zhao. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Guoxun Zhang, Xianyang Hospital of Yan 'an University, Xianyang, China
Xiongfei Zhao, Xianyang Hospital of Yan 'an University, Xianyang, China
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.