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| |  Therapy Improves Quality Of Life For Sleep Apnea Patients KANSAS CITY, MO -- Jan. 13, 1999 -- A new study suggests that millions of Americans suffering impaired quality of life because of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) can improve vitality, social functioning, and mental health by way of an established therapy known as nasal continuous positive airway pressure (nCPAP). The study was reported in this month’s issue of the journal CHEST. Over 20 million Americans suffer from sleep apnea and OSA is the most common form of the condition which is characterised by interrupted breathing while sleeping. While efforts to breathe continue during an episode of OSA, the air cannot flow out of the individual’s nose or mouth. The individual snores heavily and has frequent arousals -- abrupt changes from deep sleep to light sleep -- without being aware of them. Affected individuals feel sleepy during the day and their concentration and performance suffer. The consequences range from annoying to life-threatening. They include personality changes, sexual dysfunction and falling asleep at work, on the phone, or driving. OSA is also associated with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular morbidity and mortality. The costs to society due to loss of productivity, industrial accidents and medical bills are estimated to be over $60 billion US per year. Investigators at the Yale Center for Sleep Disorders, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine conducted a study to determine what effect nCPAP would have on the quality of life of OSA patients. Prior research had demonstrated nCPAP’s ability to decrease the frequency of sleep apnea events and oxygen desaturation during sleep, but very few studies have focused on its impact on quality of life. With nCPAP, the patient wears a mask or a pillow over the nose during sleep and pressure from an air compressor forces air through the nasal passages. The air pressure is adjusted so that it is just enough to hold the throat open when it relaxes the most. The pressure is constant and continuous and prevents obstructions while in use. However, apneas return when nCPAP is stopped. The 29 OSA patients who participated in the Yale study were evaluated at the beginning and end of the eight-week investigation to determine what changes took place in physical functioning, vitality, role functioning (physical, emotional, and social), general health and mental health. At the start of the study, Drs. Carolyn D’Ambrosio, Teri Bowman and Vahid Mohsenin reported that prior to treatment the OSA patients had significantly decreased health status as compared with age-matched control subjects. At the end of eight weeks, the 29 OSA patients treated with nCPAP, showed marked improvements in vitality (from 41 percent to 75 percent as compared with the control group), social functioning (from 66 percent to 90 percent) and mental health (76 percent to 96 percent). "Our study demonstrates that quality of life in patients with OSA is severely impaired, even in patients with even normal to mild OSA, and that quality of life can be improved with nCPAP therapy," Dr. Ambrosio said. Investigators believe a new study with a longer follow-up period is needed to assess the long-term effect of nCPAP on those aspects of quality of life that may have a physical basis.
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