Sleep, Sleep Self-Efficacy Perceptions and Related Correlates in Women with Knee Osteoarthritis-An Exploratory Secondary Analysis

Older women with knee osteoarthritis, a highly prevalent and debilitating joint disease, often experience greater physical disability, cognitive distress, and excess pain, when compared to men with the same disease. To better understand the factors potentially contributing to this discrepancy, this present retrospective analysis of 18 women with a mean age of 71 years and mild to moderate knee osteoarthritis specifically strove to detail the presence of any consistent sleep disturbance, along with possible clinical correlates, including pain self-efficacy and others on a single test occasion in the absence of intervention. After a series of salient validated survey questionnaires and demographic data forms were completed, they were reduced and subjected to descriptive and correlational analyses. Results showed: 1) Sleep disturbances during the past week occurred in more than 50% cases to various degrees; 2) Those with lower levels of perceived pain self-efficacy for managing night pain had more frequent episodes of sleep ‘restlessness’ in the past week (r=-.63; p=.01); 3) Pain self-efficacy item scores for sleep were significantly correlated with the individual’s overall confidence in their ability to reduce overall pain (r=.65; p=.01),their depressive symptom scores (p=.01), feeling sad (p=.02), their visual analogue pain intensity scores (p=.01), Arthritis Impact Measurement scores (r=.05) and feeling depressed (p=.03). 4) The sleep variable was unaffected by age (p=.21), or body mass (p=.90), and had no bearing on ambulatory capacity (p=.34) or directly on pain (p=.05), or the composite pain self-efficacy score (p=.05). It is concluded a sizeable number of older women with knee osteoarthritis may experience sleep disturbances, and feel less than efficacious in managing night pain, and may hence be at risk for excess pain and depression if intervention is not forthcoming.

Keywords: Depression, Disability, Knee Joint, Osteoarthritis, Pain, Self-efficacy, Sleep, Women.