Sleep Med Psychophysiol.  2016 Jun;23(1):16-24. 10.14401/KASMED.2016.23.1.16.

Comparison of Awareness of Symptoms and Illness Between Patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Simple Snoring

• Lee S
• Kang JM
• Cho YS
• Yoon HJ
• Kim JE
• Shin SH
• Park KH
• Kim ST
• Kang SG

• KMID: 2328085
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.14401/KASMED.2016.23.1.16

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is often undiagnosed but is an important risk factor affecting the health of an individual. The level of awareness of the illness among patients with OSA is low and is not correlated with severity of the illness. This study was conducted to compare awareness of OSA symptoms and illness between patients with OSA and simple snorers.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Two hundred eighty-two patients who were suspected of having OSA participated in this study. All subjects underwent overnight polysomnography. Those with an apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) ≥ 5 were classified as the OSA group, while those with an AHI < 5 were classified as the simple snoring group. A sleep questionnaire, which included items on awareness of the illness, OSA, and sleep symptoms, was administered to all subjects and their bed-partners.
RESULTS
Simple snorers were much more aware of their symptoms such as snoring, irregular breathing, and apnea than were patients with OSA. Bed-partners of simple snorers were also more aware of the participants' sleep symptoms than were partners of patients with OSA. However, the duration of OSA symptoms was longer in the OSA group. In the correlation analysis, the level of awareness of OSA symptoms was negatively correlated with AHI, age, body mass index, and Epworth Sleepiness Scale score. Among the sleep questionnaire and polysomnography results, only Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index was positively correlated with level of awareness of OSA symptoms. The minority of the respondents had heard about the treatment methods of continuous positive airway pressure and oral appliance and preferred them as treatment options.
CONCLUSION
This study suggests that simple snorers are more aware of their symptoms than are patients with OSA. A higher severity of OSA, represented by a higher AHI, is correlated with lower awareness of one's OSA symptoms.

Keyword

Obstructive sleep apnea; Simple snoring; Awareness of OSA symptoms

MeSH Terms

Apnea
Body Mass Index
Continuous Positive Airway Pressure
Humans
Polysomnography
Respiration
Risk Factors
Sleep Apnea, Obstructive*
Snoring*
Surveys and Questionnaires