Obstructive sleep apnea and the quality of life

Patients suffering from obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) are unaware of clinical symptoms, such as cessation of breathing during sleep, decrease in blood oxygen levels, severe sleep fragmentation, and excessive daytime sleepiness. Equally worrying is a low level of knowledge among physicians, psychiatrists, and psychologists of the intellectual and emotional impact of OSA. The illness may lead to anxiety, depression, psychosis, and other pathological symptoms. The aim of the present study was to evaluate relationships among OSA, quality of life, and psychological performance. STAI, UMACL, the Beck Depression Inventory, the Framingham Type A Scale, the Courtauld Emotional Control Scale (CECS), the Life Orientation Test - Revised (LOT-R), and the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) were applied. The tests were used to describe the well-being and pathological symptoms, such as depression or anxiety, in a clinical group (newly-diagnosed, untreated OSA patients) in comparison with a control group (healthy volunteers). The results of the tests failed to substantiate the presence of significant differences between the clinical and control groups. We put forward a hypothesis that the rather unexpected lack of psychological differences might stem from a rapid mood improvement in OSA patients on anticipation of being diagnosed and taken care of in the hospital setting. Followed-up studies in the same patients are required to confirm this hypothesis.