N-CPAP rejecters - A specific group of noncompliant patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome

A large number of studies have been focused on patients with severe obstruc tive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) being non-compliant with N-CPAP therapy, b ut data concerning patients who reject N-CPAP therapy from the very start, without a day of N-CPAP home therapy, do not exist. The purpose of the study was to determine differences, if any, in the quali ty of life (QoL) between patients rejecting N-CPAP therapy from the start, untreated patients with severe OSAS waiting for N-CPAP titration, and contr ols. Qol was measured in terms of life satisfaction on the basis of the Munich l ife quality dimension list ( MLDL), an instrument for cognitive assessment of elementary components (physical condition, psyche, social life, everyday life) of QoL. Untreated patients (n =16) with severe OSAS have a significantly worse QoL in the dimension of psyche (p = 0.00022), social life (p = 0.00582) and eve ryday life (p = 0.01633) than do rejecters of therapy (n = 19). In the dimension of physical condition, no significant difference was seen (p = 0.47138). Compared with controls (n = 113), rejecters of therapy have a significantly lower QoL score in regard of physical condition (p 0.00014) but not in terms of psyche, social life and everyday life. We conclude that a good QoL and the absence of the stress of suffering is o ne reason why patients with severe OSAS reject N-CPAP therapy in spite of p hysical impairment.