Excessive daytime sleepiness and its impact on quality of life in de novo Parkinson’s disease

Excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) is one of the most common sleep problems in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD); however, its clinical implications are not clear, especially in early stage, non-medicated PD patients. This study investigated EDS in Korean patients with de novo PD and its impact on quality of life. This cross-sectional study was carried out with 198 PD patients who underwent a structured clinical interview and examination based on common and conventional scales. Motor and nonmotor symptoms were assessed by the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) and Non-Motor Symptoms Scale (NMSS). EDS was evaluated with the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), the nocturnal disabilities and nighttime sleep problems were assessed with Parkinson’s Disease Sleep Scale 2nd version, and quality of life was measured with the Parkinson’s Disease Quality of Life 39 (PDQ-39). The relationships between ESS score and each scale were investigated. Among the patients studied, 42 patients had EDS defined as ESS > 10. Patients with EDS had a higher motor burden, greater nocturnal disabilities, more severe non-motor symptoms, and lower quality of life than did patients without EDS. Partial correlations revealed that ESS score was related to PDQ-39 summary index, irrespective of age, body mass index, or disease duration. These results show that EDS can have an immense negative impact on quality of life. The causes of EDS are multifactorial, which complicates its treatment. Further investigations are required to determine the safety and efficacy of potential EDS therapies and to develop novel EDS treatments in PD.