A Comparative Study of Polysomnography-Derived Sleep Disturbance in People Living With Multiple Sclerosis Compared to Matched Controls From the General Population

Sleep structure and sleep disorders were compared between people with multiple sclerosis (MS; n = 39) and age, sex, and BMI-matched members of the general population (n = 39) using overnight polysomnography (PSG). Compared to population controls, people with MS had a higher prevalence of periodic limb movement disorder (PLMD; 59% vs. 18%, p < 0.001) and PLM-related arousals (PLMI: 21.1 vs. 0.8, p < 0.001); as well as longer sleep duration (402.9 [59.8] vs. 370.4 [54.0] min, p = 0.014), longer median sleep latency (12.4 min) and a reduced proportion of total sleep time in stage N1 sleep (8.5% vs. 14.8%, p < 0.001) and more time in N2 sleep (54.4% vs. 48.0%, p < 0.001). Sleep architecture appeared to differ for people with MS, even in the context of no recent exacerbations or relapse. Managing periodic leg movements during sleep may help improve sleep quality in people with MS.