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Impairment of Quality of Life and
Daytime Performance in Mild Form of
Sleep Related Breathing Disorder
Juha Laakso, M.Ps., M.Sc., Jaakko Herrala, M.D, Ph.D., Riikka
M kinen M.D., Terhi Rantala, M.D., Aarne Lahdensuo, M.D., Ph.D.,
Markku Ojanen, Ph.D., and Joel Hasan, M.D., Ph.D.
Sleep related breathing disorders (SRBD) refer to various types of clinical entities, from
severe obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) to partial upper airway obstruction. It
is known that OSAS has a clear effect on the quality of life (QOL) and cognitive
performance. Usually attention is paid to clear-cut OSAS with notable hypoxia. A large
variety of other respiratory events, characterised by partial upper airway obstruction,
causing sleep fragmentation are thus ignored. The purpose of the present work was to
see, whether milder SRBD with repetitive nocturnal respiratory events and transient
arousals, but without marked hypoxia would have a corresponding impact on the QOL
and daytime performance as has been reported for OSAS. The QOL and cognitive
functions of 15 mild SRBD patients were compared to those of healthy control subjects.
The QOL was studied by a questionnaire, and cognitive functions were measured by
standardised internationally utilised tests. Six out of 11 QOL items were significantly
(p<0.05) lower in the SRBD group. For instance, sense of well being, social satisfaction,
and mood were notably reduced. Patients showed also signs of various physical
symptoms, such as feeling dizzy or sick. Statistically significant results were found in two
out of 22 cognitive tests: visual memory, concentration and auditory reaction time.
Although mild SRBD patients seemed to do worse subjectively than objectively, as
measured by standardised neuropsychological tests, sleep fragmentation caused by
repetitive respiratory disturbances seems to have an impact on daytime performance
and well being. SRBD should not be ignored even if the respiratory events do not fulfil the
formal criteria usually applied for the recognition of the apneic events.(Sleep and
Hypnosis 1999;1:163-172)
| Keywords: sleep related breathing disorder (SRBD), quality of life (QOL), neuropsychological
testing. |
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