What are the associations between sleep and pain in osteoarthritis?
Research type
Research Study
Full title
What are the associations between sleep and pain in osteoarthritis?
IRAS ID
363574
Contact name
Wendy Holden
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Reading
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 8 months, 18 days
Research summary
People with osteoarthritis and painful joints often report poor sleep, but poor sleep can also increase pain. There have been very few studies of sleep in osteoarthritis using physical measuring devices, but in other painful conditions many people report worse sleep in questionnaires than actual sleep measured using wristwatch devices called actigraphs. This is called sleep misperception. Sleep misperception may affect the amount of pain that people report. Sleep misperception could be influenced by negative factors such as pain catastrophising (a tendency to ruminate on pain and its consequences), but also positive factors such as resilience and optimism. People who do not sleep well also have increased levels of "inflammation" in their blood (C-Reactive Protein, or CRP) and reduced pain thresholds for example to pressure or heat when tested in the laboratory. The aims of this study are to compare questionnaire and actigraphy measures of sleep in people with hip and knee osteoarthritis to see if there is sleep misperception. It is anticipated that people who report worse subjective compared to objective sleep will report more pain and have higher pain catastrophising as well as lower pain thresholds and less positive personality characteristics such as resilience. Participants will be asked to complete questionnaires about pain and sleep, mood and resilience, and to wear a wrist sleep monitoring device continuously for 7 days and nights and a brief daily sleep, pain and mood questionnaire. Willing participants will be asked to provide a pinprick of blood to measure CRP (inflammation), and also undergo Quantitative Sensory Testing (QST) for pressure pain and thermal pain thresholds using a blunt nylon filament and a heat probe on one forearm. Information from this study will be used to inform the development of a psychological intervention designed to improve resilience, sleep reporting and potentially pain.
REC name
North West - Liverpool Central Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
26/NW/0111
Date of REC Opinion
20 Apr 2026
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion