Impairment of patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome in selfassessment

Background and objective: The compliance of the nasal continuous positive a irway pressure treatment (nCPAP) of the obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (O SAS) depends on the patients' awareness and improvement of the symptoms. Th erefore, we studied the relevance of OSAS in different aspects of the quali ty of life and important aspects of daily life (driving performance, workin g place). Methods: 352 patients with OSAS filled in a questionnaire of sociodemograph ic data and Impairment: of quality of life, The relevance of OSAS was evalu ated with polysomnography and parameters of daytime sleepiness. Results: The number of women was lower than expected from community related data. The apnea/hypopnea index was 29.9+/-23.4/h at baseline measurement a nd was reduced to 8.8 +/- 9.6/h with nCPAP (p < 0.001), The arousal index ( baseline 26.6 +/- 15.3/h) fell with treatment: significantly (17.7 +/- 9.2 Arousals/h, p < 0.001). The error rate in rite driving simulator test: was 7.8 +/- 8.9% (normal value 5.75 +/- 1.4). It: was normalised with nCPAP (5. 8 +/- 9.5, p < 0,001), 42.3% of patients reported about sleep apnea related symptoms for more than five years before diagnosis. The patients rated the ir physical fitness on a scale (0 to 6) at 2.9 +/- 1.3. It increased signif icantly with treatment to 3.4 +/- 1.3 an (p < 0.001). The mental activity i mproved significantly, too. The daytime sleepiness improved from 3.4 +/- 1. 5 to 3.1 +/- 1.5 (p < 0.001). 32.3% of the patients reported that they fell asleep while steering at: least once in the last month,13.0%, reported abo ut more than five episods/month. 5.3% of the patients thought their job in danger because of OSAS. 65.1% felt their performance in job to be impaired, Conclusion: OSAS impairs patients in different aspects of daily life, espec ially in the working place, The latency between the onset of symptoms and d iagnosis is longer than expected. NCPAP treatment improves the symptoms of OSAS significantly both in criteria of polysomnography and selfassessment o f the patients.