Wearable Monitoring Captures Sleep Disturbances in Patients With Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy

ABSTRACT Background and Aims Previous studies suggest that patients with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) experience impaired sleep, contributing to fatigue. Traditional methods like polysomnography or questionnaires are resource‐intensive and may not capture sleep in natural settings. We explored whether widely available consumer‐grade smartwatches offer a feasible way to assess sleep quality in this population. Methods The Electronic Monitoring of Disease Activity in patients with CIDP (EMDA‐CIDP) study was a prospective observational study conducted from January 2023 to July 2024 at the University Hospitals of Düsseldorf and Münster. 46 patients had nighttime sleep recorded for 6 months via smartwatch. Additionally, clinical scores (e.g., Inflammatory Rasch‐built Overall Disability Scale), sleep (PSQI, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index), and quality of life (QoL) questionnaires were collected every 3 months. Results Of 46 participants, 40 met adherence criteria (≥ 75% wear time on ≥ 75% of nights, median age: 66 years IQR: 59.5–70.3, 9 22.5% female). Median PSQI score was 6 (4–7.6), sleep efficiency 93% (92–95), and WASO (wake after sleep onset) 32 min (24–42). Smartwatch‐derived objective sleep measures – sleep efficiency and WASO – correlated significantly with PSQI (Spearman's R = −0.49, R = 0.40), clinical scores, and QoL. Interpretation Sleep is impaired in patients with CIDP and contributes to the overall disease burden. Our findings suggest that sleep disturbances can be tracked longitudinally using smartwatch‐derived markers. Integrating digital health data presents promising opportunities for long‐term sleep monitoring in this population. Larger studies, ideally incorporating polysomnography, are warranted to validate these findings.