Poor sleep quality and obstructive sleep apnea were frequent in patients with ILD, and poor sleep quality (PSQI) was independently associated with worse health-related quality of life, highlighting the importance of evaluating sleep in patients with ILD.
Poor sleep quality was observed in 75% of ILD patients assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index.
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) was diagnosed in 71% of ILD patients who underwent polysomnography.
Poor sleep quality was associated with higher neck circumference, higher Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) score, and significantly poorer generic and disease-specific health-related quality of life.
OSA was associated with older age, higher BMI, and greater neck circumference, but showed no association with HRQoL measures.
Regression analysis identified that poor sleep quality was independently associated with excessive daytime sleepiness and poorer HRQoL in ILD patients.
This research suggests that sleep problems are very common among patients with interstitial lung diseases (ILDs), a group of conditions that cause scarring and inflammation in the lungs. In a study of 100 ILD patients at a hospital in India, three-quarters had poor sleep quality and nearly three-quarters of those who underwent detailed sleep testing were found to have obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a condition where breathing repeatedly stops and starts during sleep. These rates are notably high compared to the general population, suggesting that sleep disturbances are a frequent but often overlooked problem in this patient group. The study also found important differences between two types of sleep problems. Poor overall sleep quality — measured by a questionnaire called the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index — was strongly linked to worse quality of life, both in general terms and specifically related to lung disease. It was also associated with excessive daytime sleepiness. By contrast, OSA was linked to physical characteristics like older age, higher body weight, and larger neck size, but was not independently associated with quality of life scores. This suggests that how well a person sleeps overall may matter more for their day-to-day wellbeing than whether they have sleep apnea specifically. This research suggests that healthcare providers caring for ILD patients should routinely ask about sleep quality, as poor sleep appears to meaningfully worsen patients' wellbeing. Identifying and addressing sleep problems could be an important part of managing ILD beyond treating the lung disease itself. The findings also raise questions about whether treating OSA alone would be sufficient to improve quality of life, or whether broader sleep quality issues need to be addressed.
Upload your bloodwork. We'll cross-reference your results against this study and 4,700 others.
Upload Your LabsThomas E, Venkatnarayan K, Veluthat C, Selvam S, Ramachandran P, Devaraj U, et al.. (2026). Assessment of sleep quality and sleep disordered breathing in patients with interstitial lung diseases.. Sleep & breathing = Schlaf & Atmung. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11325-026-03712-0