OBSTRUCTIVE SLEEP APNEA IN THE ELDERLY. ROLE OF CONTINUOUS POSITIVE AIRWAY PRESSURE TREATMENT. A Randomized Controlled Trial

Rationale: Almost all the information the investigators have about the effect of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) comes from randomized clinical trials including only middle-aged patients. Little is know, however, about the effect of CPAP in elderly people with OSA. Objective: To assess the effect of CPAP treatment in elderly patients with severe OSA on clinical, quality-of-life and neurocognitive spheres. Methods and Measurements: Open-label, randomized, multicenter clinical trial of parallel groups with blinded end-point design conducted in 12 Spanish teaching hospitals on a consecutive clinical cohort of elderly (≥ 70 years) patients with confirmed severe OSA (IAH≥ 30) receiving CPAP or no therapy while maintaining their usual control for three months. CPAP titration was performed by an auto CPAP device. A good adherence was set as at least 4 hours/day of CPAP use. Primary endpoint was the measurement of quality of life by the Quebec Sleep questionnaire, which includes diurnal and nocturnal symptoms, hypersomnolence, and social and emotional dimensions. Secondary endpoints include different sleep-related symptoms, presence of anxiety or depression, office blood pressure figures and some neurocognitive tests. Patients were invited to a clinical visit on three occasions to quantify the adherence to CPAP. Intention-to-treat analysis was performed.