Differences in polysomnography between patients suffering from Connʼs syndrome in comparison with a control group

The renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system raised attention in several studies due to its connection to sleep patterns. In primary aldosteronism (PA), aldosterone secretion is enhanced significantly. Our aim was to investigate sleep patterns between patients suffering from PA in comparison to healthy volunteers (HV). We compared 18 patients with untreated PA with 18 HVs matched according to age. After confirming diagnosis of PA in our hospital, patients’ polysomnographies were recorded during two consecutive nights. Polysomnographic parameters were scored in 30-sec epochs. Multivariate analyses of variance showed significant group differences concerning the parameters latency of wake after sleep onset (LWSO), light sleep (LS) and sleep period time (SPT). The duration (in epochs) of SPT in the 2nd night half (PA: 469.33 vs. HV: 495.72; p = 0.025) and LS in both whole night (PA: 520.11 vs. HV: 567.67; p = 0.043) and 2nd night half (PA: 261.83 vs. HV: 303.89; p = 0.026) were diminished significantly in patients with PA compared to HV. Moreover, LWSO was raised significantly in patients with PA (PA: 73.11 vs. HV: 31.61; p = 0.028). Our data demonstrate that patients with PA suffer from disturbed sleep patterns. Whereas in healthy subjects, the aldosterone and cortisol peaks occur synchronously during the early morning, aldosterone peaks in PA are present during day-time. The diminished SPT in the PA group in the morning hours might be related to the dysregulated aldosterone secretion.