J Educ Res Nurs. Ahead of Print: JERN-27003 | DOI: 10.14744/jern.2024.27003

The Relationship Between Perceived Stress Level, Disease Activity, and Sleep Quality in Patients with Behçet’s Disease

Şeyma Koruyucu¹, Özlem Canbolat^2
1Necmettin Erbakan University Faculty of Medicine Hospital, Konya, Türkiye
²Faculty of Nursing, Gazi University, Ankara, Türkiye

Background: To formulate effective treatment and care management strategies for Behçet disease, it is essential to evaluate both the factors influencing disease activity and the conditions stemming from it.

Aim: This study investigates the relationship between perceived stress level, disease activity, and sleep quality in patients with Behçet’s disease.

Methods: This study adopted a descriptive-correlation research design. The sample consisted of 144 patients living in a city in Türkiye. Data were collected using a Patient Information Form, Behçet’s Syndrome Activity Score (BSAS), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). The student’s t-test, one-way analysis of variance, Pearson’s correlation coefficients, and multiple linear regression were used for data analysis.

Results: Of the participants, 54.2% were aged 20 to 40 years, 85.4% were married, and 39.6% had primary school degrees. Additionally, 26.4% had an attack once every 15 days. Most participants had chronic diseases (72.9%). There was a positive correlation between perceived stress and disease activity (r = 0.382, P < 0.001), a strong correlation between perceived stress and sleep quality (r = 0.611, P < 0.001), and a positive correlation between disease activity and sleep quality (r = 0.564, P < 0.001). There was a significant relationship between perceived stress (Adjusted R² = 0.272, F = 2.298, P < 0.001), disease activity (Adjusted R² = 0.413, F = 2.804, P < 0.001), and sleep quality (Adjusted R² = 0.462, F = 5.285, P < 0.001).

Conclusion: Patients with Behçet’s disease who perceive high levels of stress are more likely to experience elevated disease activity levels and poor sleep quality. These patients should be evaluated for stress factors, disease activity, and sleep quality, and the necessary nursing interventions should be planned based on the results of this evaluation.

Keywords: Behçet’s disease, disease activity, nursing, perceived stress, sleep quality

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