Association of sleep quality and mucosal healing in patients with inflammatory bowel disease in clinical remission

BACKGROUND: The interaction between sleep and the immune system has been increasingly studied over the last decades. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between sleep quality and mucosal healing in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) currently in clinical remission. METHODS: Ninety patients with IBD in clinical remission were studied: 54 (60%) with Crohn’s disease and 36 (40%) with ulcerative colitis. All completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and mucosal healing was estimated with ileocolonoscopy. A subgroup analysis was also performed in order to investigate these associations in Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis separately. RESULTS: Of the 90 patients, 45.56% had poor sleep quality. Patients without mucosal healing expressed higher absolute values of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (P<0.001), while absence of mucosal healing and poor sleep quality were statistically associated (P<0.05). Subgroup analysis showed that the same pattern was present in patients with Crohn’s disease: patients without mucosal healing expressed higher absolute values of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (P<0.001) and the absence of mucosal healing was statistically associated with poor sleep quality (P<0.05). However, these associations were not observed in the subgroup of patients with ulcerative colitis (P>0.05). CONCLUSION: In patients with IBD in clinical remission, absence of mucosal healing seems to be associated with poor sleep quality, especially in patients with Crohn’s disease.