BACKGROUND: Sleep disorders, such as daytime sleepiness, insomnia, restlesslegs syndrome (RLS) and obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) have been reported as prevalent amongpatients with end stage renal failure(ESRF). MATERIAL/METHODS: As there is little published data fromSoutheast Asia, a sleep questionnaire was administered to all patients (N=43, 27 males) on chronic hemodialysis(HD) at the Prince of Wales Hospital, Hong Kong, to assess their sleep complaints. RESULTS: The meanage was 49.5 +/- 11.3 years (mean I SD) with mean body mass index (BMI) of 22.6 +/- 3.6 kg/m2. Frequentawakenings and sleep onset insomnia were the most frequent complaints (79% each), while daytime sleepinessoccurred in 74% of patients. Sleep maintenance insomnia and pruritus occurred in 64% and 60% of patientsrespectively. Symptoms of RLS were reported by 70% of patients. The prevalence of OSAS was estimatedby the frequency of observed choking (4.7% of cases), witnessed apnea (14%), snoring and witnessed apnea(9.3%), disruptive snoring (14%), disruptive snoring and witnessed apnea (2.3%), extremely loud snoring(4.7%). CONCLUSIONS: Our questionnaire survey revealed a high prevalence of sleep complaints such asfrequent awakenings, daytime sleepiness, insomnia and RLS in patients with ESRF on maintenance HD, buta relatively low prevalence of OSAS, which may be related to the low BMI of our ESRF patients.

Keywords: Body Mass Index, Kidney Failure, Renal Dialysis, Sleep Disorders, Snoring