A prospective examination of sleep and functioning in psoriasis

  • Research type

    Research Study

  • Full title

    A prospective examination of the relationship between the daytime experience of psoriasis and sleep-wake functioning using experience-sampling.

  • IRAS ID

    193183

  • Contact name

    Alasdair Henry

  • Contact email

    alasdair.henry@postgrad.manchester.ac.uk

  • Sponsor organisation

    University of Manchester

  • Duration of Study in the UK

    1 years, 0 months, 8 days

  • Research summary

    Psoriasis is a common, complex skin disorder associated with substantial disease burden, with elevated risk of physical (e.g. cardiovascular disease, diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease and psoriatic arthritis) and psychological illness including depression and anxiety.

    Recently, sleep disturbance has emerged as a further area of life commonly disrupted in psoriasis. Studies have shown that up to 76% of people with psoriasis experience poor sleep quality, and that it is associated with itch, pre-sleep cognitive arousal (thoughts/worries happening before sleep) and low mood.

    In this study we aim to examine the relationship between sleep, the experience of psoriasis (i.e. psoriasis-specific thoughts/beliefs and symptoms) and daytime functioning. The study involves participants wearing a watch-like device for fifteen days to measure their sleep and to deliver questions about their psoriasis, thoughts/beliefs and functioning at semi-random intervals across the day. This method is known as Experience Sampling Method (ESM), whereby the real-time experience is explored and causal relationships can be investigated. It is hoped that this study will lead to a greater understanding of sleep in people with psoriasis and provide possible targets for future treatments to improve sleep.

  • REC name

    North East - Newcastle & North Tyneside 2 Research Ethics Committee

  • REC reference

    16/NE/0338

  • Date of REC Opinion

    7 Oct 2016

  • REC opinion

    Favourable Opinion