News for Snorers: Testing for Apnea in Your Own Bed
People whose doctors suspect they suffer from sleep apnea may be able to find out without costly overnight sessions in a sleep lab. University of British Columbia researchers report in the Annals of Internal Medicine that the condition, which causes repeated breathing lapses and has been associated with a higher risk of heart disease and stroke, as well as daytime sleepiness and difficulty concentrating, can be identified as effectively using simple tests in the doctor's office and at home. The tests measure snoring episodes, systemic hypertension, and blood-oxygen levels, for example.
The study looked at two groups: One received a lab-based, two-overnight diagnosis known as polysomnography, or PSG; the other submitted to a series of screens that quickly measure the probability of having moderate to severe sleep apnea. Treatment of the condition with continuous positive airway pressure, or CPAP, machines, which blow air into the mouth to keep breathing passages open, worked equally well in both groups. "Rather than waiting for test results after spending two nights in a sleep lab," says lead author C. Frank Ryan, a professor of medicine at the University of British Columbia, patients determined to have a high probability based on the diagnostic tests could be started on CPAP right away in their homes.
One difference: The home group was more apt to stick with treatment.
The findings are good news for people who don't have easy access to a sleep lab but shouldn't be taken to mean there's no need to see a specialist, says Ana Krieger, director of the sleep disorders center at New York University. Apnea may not be the whole story.