The following is a summary of “Prevalence, Severity, and Predictors of Insomnia in Advanced Colorectal Cancer” published in the  September 2023  issue of Journal of Pain and Symptom Management by Wong, et al.

In palliative care and advanced cancer patient populations, insomnia is underdiagnosed and undertreated. Despite colorectal cancer’s significant symptom burden and its status as the third most common malignancy in the world, no studies have been conducted on insomnia in an advanced colorectal cancer cohort.The goal of this study is to analyse the incidence of insomnia and its correlations in a sizable group of people with advanced colorectal cancer.From 2013 to 2019, researchers in Australia analysed data from a national database to create a sequential cohort study of 18,302 patients with colorectal cancer who received care from palliative care providers in inpatient, outpatient, and ambulatory settings. 

In order to quantify how bad the sleeplessness was, The Researchers employed the Symptom Assessment Score (SAS). In order to examine correlations with other symptoms and functional scores from validated questionnaires, clinically relevant insomnia was defined as an SAS score of >=3/10.Clinically serious insomnia affected 35.6% of the population, with a higher prevalence among those younger (<45), more active (AKPS score>= 70), and physically capable (RUG-ADL score 5). Insomnia was more common among homebound and outpatient patients. Patients with clinically significant sleeplessness frequently also experienced nausea, anorexia, and psychological discomfort.This is the first study to their knowledge to examine the incidence and correlations of sleeplessness in people with advanced colorectal cancer. 

The Researcher’s results show that there are a number of demographics more likely to experience insomnia, including younger people, those with more physical capacity, those who live at home, and those who experience greater psychological discomfort. Insomnia in this population may be more easily diagnosed and treated if this is the case.

Source: sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0885392423005249