# Measuring sleep disturbance in advanced cancer using the brief Pittsburgh sleep quality index (bPSQI)

## TL;DR

This study explores the use of the brief Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (bPSQI) to measure sleep disturbance in patients with advanced cancer.

## Contribution

The study evaluates the bPSQI's effectiveness in identifying sleep issues in advanced cancer patients, suggesting a higher threshold for this population.

## Key findings

- Sleep disturbance is prevalent among patients with advanced cancer.
- The bPSQI shows good internal consistency and higher scores correlate with greater sleep-related distress.
- Discrepancies exist between subjective and objective sleep assessments.

## Abstract

Sleep disturbance is common among patients with cancer and is linked to significant morbidity, poorer quality of life and reduced survival in this population. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) can identify poor sleep quality in this population, although a higher threshold value may be required compared to the general population. The brief PSQI (bPSQI), consisting of six of the original 19 items, offers a quicker and simpler tool. The bPSQI has demonstrated comparable accuracy in identifying poor sleep in the general population but remains unexplored in patients with advanced cancer. This observational study of 65 patients with advanced cancer reiterates the prevalence of sleep disturbance, demonstrates good internal consistency of the bPSQI and notes higher bPSQI scores with increasing subjective sleep-related distress. Although significant associations were noted between the bPSQI global score, individual bPSQI item scores and single-item sleep disturbance questions, the study cautions against the use of single-item questions in detecting sleep problems. Discrepancies were noted between subjective and objective sleep assessments. The findings support a higher threshold value for identifying poor sleep quality using the bPSQI. Although limited by a small sample size, the findings emphasize the need for further validation of the bPSQI in this population and to ensure that assessment methods align with research aims.