A review focused on the prevalence of sleep disorders
The authors searched for available studies in Embase, MEDLINE and the Cochrane Library through August 2025. According to the abstract consulted, their review includes 18 studies and 202,847 participants. The protocol was preregistered in PROSPERO.
The aim was to estimate the proportion of people with insomnia, obstructive sleep apnea, restless legs syndrome or narcolepsy among those with knee, hip or hand osteoarthritis. It was not designed to evaluate a treatment for sleep disorders or osteoarthritis.
Insomnia tops the estimates
The pooled prevalence of insomnia was 42%, with a 95% confidence interval ranging from 34 to 51%. It was the most common disorder in this review.
Estimates were 37% for sleep apnea and 35% for restless legs syndrome. But their confidence intervals were particularly wide: 6 to 67% and 10 to 61%, respectively. These results therefore do not establish a precise prevalence. None of the included studies reported data on narcolepsy.
Figures that do not establish cause and effect
The estimates vary depending on diagnostic criteria and participant characteristics. The authors report substantial heterogeneity across studies and rate the certainty of the evidence as very low. The total number of participants is not enough to overcome these limitations.
On their own, these proportions do not tell us whether sleep disorders are more common than among people without osteoarthritis. Nor do they demonstrate that osteoarthritis causes them, or that treating sleep problems improves joint symptoms.
What this study adds
This review supports paying greater clinical attention to sleep disorders in people with osteoarthritis. It provides neither a treatment protocol nor a reliable individual estimate. The useful message is to keep sleep in the clinical picture, without turning these average prevalence figures into a diagnosis.
Limitations to keep in mind
Only the Europe PMC abstract was consulted, not the full text. It reports substantial heterogeneity and very low certainty of evidence. In addition, the breakdown by study type adds up to more studies than the 18 reported, with no explanation available in the excerpt. Funding and conflicts of interest could not be verified.
What we can take away
Sleep disorders deserve attention in osteoarthritis, but the reported prevalence estimates remain highly uncertain and do not prove any causal link.
Sources and provenance
- Prevalence of Sleep Disorders in Patients With Knee, Hip, and Hand Osteoarthritis: A Systematic Review With Meta-Analysis.
Source date: 2026-11-01.
Meta-Analysis, IM, Systematic Review, Review, Journal Article · Résumé Europe PMC uniquement, texte intégral non consulté