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Interhemispheric sleep depth coherence predicts driving safety in sleep apnea
Ali Azarbarzin1,2, Magdy Younes3, Scott A Sands1,2
1Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders, Departments of Medicine and Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
Journal of Sleep Research
|May 23, 2020
Summary
Individuals with obstructive sleep apnea and higher interhemispheric sleep depth coherence show a significantly lower risk of car crashes. This brain activity pattern may indicate resilience to sleep apnea
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Sleep Medicine
- Traffic Safety
Background:
- Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is linked to increased car crash risk.
- Current OSA severity measures inadequately predict crash risk in individuals.
- Interhemispheric sleep depth coherence is a novel metric for brain activity synchronization.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if reduced interhemispheric sleep depth coherence increases crash risk in OSA patients.
- To determine if sleep depth coherence is a better predictor of crash risk than conventional OSA severity measures.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of 1,378 adults with OSA from the Sleep Heart Health Study.
- Electroencephalograms (EEGs) used to compute interhemispheric sleep depth coherence.
- Car crash occurrence assessed via questionnaire 2 years post-sleep study.
- Multivariate logistic regression adjusted for demographic and driving factors.
Main Results:
- Higher sleep depth coherence (top quartile) was associated with a 62% lower risk of car crashes compared to the lowest quartile.
- Findings remained significant after adjusting for sleep duration and sleepiness.
- Sleep depth coherence demonstrated fair to moderate 5-year stability.
Conclusions:
- Increased interhemispheric sleep depth coherence is linked to a reduced risk of motor vehicle accidents in individuals with OSA.
- High sleep depth coherence may serve as a protective marker against neurocognitive deficits associated with OSA.
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