Sleep Quality in HIV Patients: Efavirenz Use, CD4 Status, Cytokine and Monocyte Profiles

Background Efavirenz is an antiretroviral drug known to cause CNS side effects, which often cause sleep disturbances. These are more pronounced during early treatment, but it is unclear whether these persist on chronic use. Low CD4 levels, indicative of substantial immune dysfunction, as well as alterations in cytokine and monocyte parameters have been implicated in sleep disturbances. We therefore investigated the effects of efavirenz use, CD4 status, and cytokine and monocyte levels on self-reported sleep quality in HIV-infected patients.