Journal of sleep research
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Journal of sleep research · Dec 2019
Randomized Controlled TrialSubjective sleep quality as a mediator in the relationship between pain severity and sustained attention performance in patients with fibromyalgia.
Pain severity and sleep are associated with cognitive performance in patients with fibromyalgia. This study examined whether sleep mediates the relationships of pain severity with psychomotor vigilance and attention in patients with fibromyalgia by analysing 80 patients with fibromyalgia. Cognitive performance, pain severity and sleep parameters were determined using the Psychomotor Vigilance Task, Brief Pain Inventory-Short Form and sleep diaries of seven consecutive nights, respectively. ⋯ In conclusion, sleep quality mediates the pain severity-cognitive performance relationship: pain affects sleep quality, which in turn impairs sustained attention. Our findings provide further insight into the processes underlying the relationship between pain and poor cognitive function. Improved sleep quality may offset the detrimental effects of pain on sustained attention.