The association between laryngopharyngeal reflux and insomnia

Objectives: To evaluate the prevalence of insomnia in patients with laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR) and to analyze the relationship between the severity of insomnia and LPR-related symptoms. Methods: We analyzed 69 patients with LPR and 61 healthy controls. The LPR was confirmed via the 24-h hypopharyngeal-esophageal multichannel intraluminal impedance pH monitoring. Reflux symptoms and sleep disturbances were assessed using the Reflux Symptom Index and Insomnia Severity Index. We compared the prevalence of insomnia between the two groups. We analyzed the relationship between reflux symptoms and severity of insomnia. Results: The prevalence of insomnia was significantly higher in patients with LPR than in healthy controls (46.3% vs. 29.5%; p = 0.049). The severity of reflux-related symptoms was correlated with insomnia severity (rho = 0.44; p < 0.001). Patients with LPR with nighttime reflux were more likely to have sleep disturbances than patients with LPR without nighttime reflux. Conclusion: Patients with LPR are more likely to experience insomnia than healthy controls, and the severity of reflux symptoms was related to the severity of insomnia.