Evaluating the Relationship Between Sleep-Disordered Breathing and Daytime Alertness

Completed

Conditions: Sleep Apnea, Obstructive

Interventions: Device: Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP)

Registration Number: NCT00393913

Lead Sponsor: NYU Langone Health

Brief Summary: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a serious sleep disorder in which a person repeatedly stops breathing, or experiences shallow breathing for short periods of time during sleep. Daytime sleepiness is a common symptom of OSA and may affect an individual's level of alertness throughout the day. The primary purpose of this study is to evaluate the relationship between the severity of sleep-disordered breathing and levels of daytime alertness at baseline (untreated state) in a group of subjects with and without sleep apnea. In addition the change in daytime sleepiness in subjects with sleep apnea being treated with a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine, a common treatment for OSA will also be assessed.

Detailed Description: Individuals with OSA can experience up to 300 sleep disruptions each night, which may result in excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS), one of the most common symptoms of OSA. EDS can have serious consequences, including motor vehicle accidents, poor school performance, and work-related accidents and performance issues. The most common treatment for OSA is CPAP therapy. This involves wearing a mask over the nose while sleeping; air then flows through the mask into the nose to maintain a level of pressure that keeps the breathing passages open. CPAP therapy typically results in fewer sleep and breathing disruptions during the night, which may increase an individual's alertness levels during the day. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the relationship between severity of sleep-disordered breathing and daytime alertness levels in adults with and withoutout symptoms of OSA.

This study will involve three to five study visits over a 2- to 3-month period. During the first 3 days, participants will record their sleep habits in a diary and will wear a device that measures breathing, oxygen levels, and sleep position. All participants will then take part in a 1-night inpatient stay at the sleep center lab during which brain, eye, muscle, heart, and breathing activity will be monitored. Participants with a confirmed diagnosis of OSA will stay at the sleep lab one additional night for observation while using a CPAP machine. The following day, tests to measure alertness, ease of falling asleep, and sleepiness levels will be administered. Participants will then use the CPAP machine at home for 4-6 weeks; each machine will be set at an appropriate level for the participant, and will record breathing patterns and pressure. Participants will receive weekly phone calls for monitoring purposes. At the end of Week 4, participants will return to the sleep lab for one additional night of CPAP monitoring, followed by alertness and sleep testing. Those with severe OSA will use the CPAP machine at a newly adjusted level for 5 additional days and return for repeat testing. All participants who have been compliant with CPAP will return to the lab for overnight sleep testing without the CPAP machine and for alertness testing.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status: COMPLETED

Sex: All

Target Recruitment: 144

Inclusion Criteria

Experiences symptoms of OSA, including snoring and sleepiness
Stable medical history with no change in medications that could affect sleepiness

Exclusion Criteria

Suspected diagnosis of a sleep disorder other than OSA (i.e., periodic leg movements, narcolepsy, insomnia, central sleep apnea, sleep hypoventilation syndrome)
Medically unstable health conditions (e.g., heart attack, congestive heart failure)
Use of psychotropic medications that cause sedation in the 3 months prior to study entry
Recent or confirmed history of recreational drug use or alcohol abuse
Pregnant
Inability to communicate verbally, write, or read
Visual, hearing, or cognitive impairment

Study & Design

Study Type: OBSERVATIONAL

Study Design: Not specified

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP)	Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP)	Participants will use a CPAP machine if they are found to have sleep apnea.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Objective Sleepiness	Measured at baseline, on CPAP (4-6 weeks), CPAP withdrawal (2 nights)	Multiple Sleep Latency Test (MSLT) measures the latency to sleep onset in minutes. The shorter the latency to sleep the more sleepy the subject.
Subjective Sleepiness	Baseline, CPAP( 4 -6 weeks), Off CPAP ( 2 nights)	Measured using the Epworth sleepiness scale (ESS). The Epworth sleepiness scale is used in the assessment of daytime sleepiness and measures the general level of sleepiness.The ESS presents the subject with eight situations and asks how likely they are to fall asleep (0= never, 1 =slight chance of dozing, 2= moderate chance of dozing and 3 =high chance of dozing) in these situations. The sum of the 8 answers is used as the score and ranges from 0 (not sleepy) to 24 (extremely sleepy), and a score of greater than 10 is an indication that a person may be excessively sleepy.
Vigilance	Baseline, CPAP (4-6 weeks), CPAP withdrawal (2 nights)	Vigilance is measured using the psychomotor vigilance task which is a portable reaction time test that is contained in a small, programmable, portable electronic box that requires only a single switch to start. The task consists of responding to a small bright red light stimulus by pressing a response button as soon as the stimulus appears. This stops the stimulus counter and displays the reaction time (RT) in milliseconds for a 2-second period and the task duration is 20 minutes. The subject is instructed to press the button as soon as each stimulus appears in order to keep the reaction time as low as possible. The PVT yields highly informative metrics on the capacity for sustained attention including the frequency of lapses (reaction time \> 500 milliseconds). The higher the number of lapses the greater the impairment. Well rested (non-sleepy) subjects have almost no lapses(\<2) during the 20min test.