CPAP Treatment Adherence in Women with Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Untreated obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) has numerous negative health-related consequences. Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is generally considered the treatment of choice for OSA, but rates of nonadherence are high. It is believed that OSA is more prevalent among men; therefore understanding how OSA presents among women is limited and treatment adherence has received little research attention. For this study, 29 women were recruited from primary care offices. They completed a questionnaire battery and underwent a night of nocturnal polysomnography (PSG) followed by a visit with a sleep specialist. Women diagnosed with OSA were prescribed CPAP; 2 years later CPAP adherence was evaluated. Results show that approximately half the sample was adherent. There were no significant differences between adherent and nonadherent women on OSA severity; however CPAP adherent women had worse nocturnal and daytime functioning scores at the time of diagnosis. Moreover, when the seven nocturnal and daytime variables were used as predictors in a discriminant analysis, they could predict 87% of adherent and 93% of the nonadherent women. The single most important predictor was nonrefreshing sleep. We discuss the implications of the findings for identifying women in primary care with potential OSA and offer suggestions for enhancing treatment adherence.