Sleep in patients with respiratory disease

Recent studies have emphasized the high prevalence and significant consequences of sleep abnormalities in patients who have underlying respiratory disease. Such abnormalities include the nocturnal increase in airway resistance in patients who have asthma, the impaired sleep quality and nocturnal desaturation (particularly during REM sleep) in patients who have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and the sleep-related hypoventilation and hypoxemia in patients who have various restrictive respiratory disorders. This article discusses the salient features, underlying pathophysiologic mechanisms, and treatment of these abnormalities of sleep in patients who have respiratory disease.