Daytime sleepiness versus fatigue in patients with multiple sclerosis: A systematic review on the Epworth sleepiness scale as an assessment tool

SummaryFatigue is a frequent and distressing symptom in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). In contrast, sleepiness, characterized by difficulties to stay awake and alert during the day, seems to be less prevalent in MS; however, exact studies are lacking. In addition, there is a semantic confusion of the concepts of “fatigue” and “sleepiness”, which are often used interchangeably. We conducted a systematic review of studies using the Epworth sleepiness scale (ESS) for the assessment of daytime sleepiness in patients with MS. The summarized results of 48 studies demonstrate that sleepiness, as indicated by elevated ESS scores, is less prevalent and less severe than fatigue but is present in a significant proportion of patients with MS. In most cross-sectional and longitudinal studies, there was a moderate association between ESS scores and various fatigue rating scales. Longitudinal studies on the effect of wakefulness-promoting agents failed to show a consistent improvement of sleepiness or fatigue as compared to placebo. It has also been shown that daytime sleepiness is frequently associated with comorbid sleep disorders that are often underrecognized and undertreated in MS. Sleepiness and potential sleep disorders may also precipitate and perpetuate fatigue in patients with MS and should be part of the differential diagnostic assessment. To support an appropriate decision-making process, we propose a stepwise evaluation of sleepiness as compared to fatigue in patients with MS.