Prevalence of sleep impairment in patients with tinnitus: a systematic review and single-arm meta-analysis

This study aimed to comprehensively review the literature and synthesize relevant data to examine the pooled prevalence of poor sleep quality (sleep impairment) and assess overall sleep quality in patients with tinnitus. This meta-analysis systematically searched both English (PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science) and Chinese (Wanfang Data Chinese database, Veep Chinese Database, and Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure) databases. Data extraction and quality assessment were independently performed by two authors. The pooled prevalence of sleep impairment and poor sleep quality was calculated via a random-effects model. Sub-group and sensitivity analyses were performed to explore the source of heterogeneity. A total of seven studies were included with a total sample of 3041 tinnitus participants. The pooled prevalence of sleep impairment was 53.5% (95% confidence interval: 40.2–66.8%) and the I2 was 97.8% (Q = 7.90, p = 0.000). There were significant differences in the prevalence of poor sleep quality between males and females (39.1% vs. 44.6%, P = 0.034), between different PSQI cut-off values ≥ 7 and > 5 (53.1% vs. 53.8%, P = 0.000), and between sample sizes > 200 and ≤ 200 (54.0% vs. 52.7%, P = 0.000). In non-Asia area, the prevalence (56.6%, 95% CI: 42.6–70.5%) was lower than that in Asia areas (34.5%, 95% CI: 25.7–43.3%). Sleep impairment is common among patients with tinnitus. Development of interventions for conditions associated with poor sleep quality should be recommended to offer a safe and efficacious solution for this population.