OBJECTIVE: The study worked with depressive symptoms, anxiety score and cognitive functions in obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) patients treated with CPAP. METHODS: Eighty-one subjects with OSA and without psychiatric comorbidity were treated with CPAP for one year and completed the following scales and cognitive tests: Trail Making Test, Verbal Fluency Test, d2 Test, Beck Depression Inventory-II and Beck Anxiety Inventory. MINI ruled out psychiatric disorder. At the two months check-up, subjects were re-evaluated for depressive and anxiety symptoms, and after one year of CPAP treatment, subjects repeated cognitive tests and scales. Data about therapy adherence and effectiveness were obtained from the patient's CPAP machines. RESULTS: The study was completed by 59 CPAP adherent patients and eight non-adherent patients. CPAP therapy effectiveness was verified in all patients by decreasing the apnea-hypopnoea index below 5 and/or 10% of baseline values. The adherent patients significantly improved depressive and anxiety symptoms. There was also an improvement in overall performance in the attention test; however, performance in many individual items did not change. The adherent patients also improved verbal fluency and in the Part B of the Trail making test. The non-adherent group significantly increased the number of mistakes made in the d2 test; other results were non-significant. CONCLUSION: According to our results, OSA patients' mood, anxiety and certain cognitive domains improved during the one-year therapy with CPAP. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT03866161.

• Keywords
• CPAP treatment, Trail Making Test, Verbal Fluency Test, cognitive functions, depression, obstructive sleep apnoea, treatment efficacy,
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH

PURPOSE: Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is the most effective therapy for obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS). Long-term adherence is necessary; however, it may be widely variable based on current literature, where the predicting factors are also not well defined. The aim of this study was to assess ten-year adherence to CPAP and to define factors influencing it. METHODS: In total, 107 patients (91 males) were enrolled in this study, with an average age of 53.5 years (SD 10.1), with CPAP therapy being indicated (Apnoea-Hypopnoea Index - AHI > 15). Anthropometric and social status data have been obtained as well as the average use of CPAP through device memory. RESULTS: Sufficient adherence (> 4 h per night) was found in 57% of patients in the first year with no subsequent significant change during the next 9 years. Adherence correlated significantly with the severity of OSAS - AHI (r = 0.321 over 5 years) and Epworth Sleepiness Scale (r = 0.317 over ten years) but did not correlate with the pressure used or the age of the patient. No statistically significant differences have been found between the sexes, the different mask groups, or the social status groups. CONCLUSION: Good adherence to CPAP therapy in OSAS patients is essential. According to our results, patients with more severe OSAS or more severe sleepiness seem to have better adherence.

• Keywords
• CPAP therapy, adherence to therapy, follow-up, sleep apnoea syndrome, social status,
• MeSH
• Middle Aged MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Follow-Up Studies MeSH
• Sleep Apnea, Obstructive * therapy   MeSH
• Sleepiness * MeSH
• Physical Therapy Modalities MeSH
• Continuous Positive Airway Pressure methods   MeSH
• Check Tag
• Middle Aged MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Male MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH