Sleep quality and circadian rhythm profile of persons with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy in a tertiary epilepsy center: A case-control study.

Purpose: This study evaluated sleep quality, chronotype, and excessive diurnal somnolence in persons with Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy (JME) and their possible association with clinical variables.

Methods: This cross-sectional controlled study evaluated 49 consecutive patients (65% females, mean age 27.53 years) with an electroclinical diagnosis of JME and 49 healthy controls (55% females, mean age 28.55 years). The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Inventory (PSQI) was used to assess sleep quality and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) to evaluate excessive daytime sleepiness. The patients' chronotype was evaluated by the Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ). Epilepsy-related factors gathered from the medical chart and personal interview were epilepsy duration, age at onset, frequency of myoclonic (Mcl), generalized tonic-clonic (GTC) and absence (ABS) seizures, pharmacoresponse, and current antiseizure medication (ASM).

Results: Persons with JME did not differ from the control group regarding daytime sleepiness (p=0.840); however, the JME group had worse sleep quality (p=0.01) than the controls. Persons with JME presented a more evening chronotype than controls (p = 0.003). The age at onset, epilepsy duration, frequency of Mcl seizure, frequency of GTC seizure, frequency of ABS seizure, and drug response did not predict ESS and MEQ scales. Pharmacoresponsive patients had lower PSQI scores compared with pharmacoresistant patients (p=0.036).

Conclusion: Persons with JME have worse sleep quality and a more evening chronotype. Notably, pharmacoresistant patients present a worse sleep quality that deserves attention and special care due to the relationship between sleep deprivation and seizure worsening.