BACKGROUND: Signs of both motor and sensory nervous lesions have previously been shown in the upper airway of patients with OSA and habitual snorers. Snoring per se may damage all upper airway neurons over time, thereby causing progression to manifest sleep apnea. To test this hypothesis, nonsnoring subjects, untreated snorers, and CPAP-treated patients underwent repeated sensory testing of the soft palate in a prospective long-term study. METHODS: Cold detection threshold (CDT) testing at the soft palate and lip with a thermode and nocturnal respiratory recordings were performed in 2008 to 2009 with retesting 6 to 7 years later. RESULTS: In 25 untreated snorers, palatal CDT worsened from a median (25th-75th percentile range) 4.2 degrees C (3.2-5.9) to 11.0 degrees C (7.0-17.4) (P < .001). The apnea-hypopnea index increased from a median 7.0 to 14.0 events/h (P < .05). There was no significant correlation between changes in CDT and the apnea-hypopnea index. In 21 nonsnoring control subjects, palatal CDT increased from a median 3.2 degrees C to 5.6 degrees C (P < .005). In 19 CPAP-treated patients, palatal CDT did not significantly change; eight patients had improved values. CDTs worsened significantly more in the snorers group than in the control subjects (P < .05) and the CPAP-treated patients (P < .001). There was no significant difference between control subjects and CPAP-treated patients. CONCLUSIONS: CDT worsened considerably over time in untreated snorers, significantly more than in nonsnoring control subjects and CPAP-treated patients. Untreated snorers therefore risk developing poor sensitivity in the upper airway. In contrast, efficient treatment of OSA seems to protect the sensory innervation, as the CPAP-treated group maintained their sensitivity to cold and, in some cases, the sensitivity even improved.

Objectives/Introduction: Previous studies have shown that there are signs of both motor and sensory nervous lesions in the upper airway of patients with obstructive apnea (OSA) and, to a lesser ext ...

Background Postpartum depression is a common condition, which consequences might be harmful for both mother and child. Since sleep and depression are closely related it is possible that women who suffer from sleep related problems during pregnancy are more likely to develop depression in the postpartum period. This study aims to investigate the possible association between depressive symptoms in the postpartum period and sleep related problems during pregnancy. Methods In this study 293 women in the last trimester of pregnancy answered a questionnaire about symptoms of restless legs, snoring and daytime sleepiness. They also completed the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS). The same women were screened for depressive symptoms using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) four to ten weeks after giving birth. Additional information about social data, pregnancy and delivery was received from the medical charts. Results Women with postpartum depressive symptoms had higher prevalence of excessive daytime sleepiness defined as ESS score ≥10 (OR 3.84, CI 1.57–9.39), and restless legs syndrome (OR 2.837 CI 1.18–6.84) in last trimester of pregnancy, when adjusted for socio-demographic factors and obstetric risk factors. No association was found between postpartum depressive symptoms and snoring. Conclusions Depressive symptoms after childbirth are preceded by sleep related problems such as daytime sleepiness and restless legs, already during pregnancy. The results from Epworth Sleepiness Scale and a questionnaire concerning Restless Legs Syndrome completed during pregnancy might be a valuable contribution for detecting women at risk for postpartum depression, enabling preventive interventions.

Postpartum depression is a common condition, which consequences might be harmful for both mother and child. Since sleep and depression are closely related it is possible that women who suffer from sleep related problems during pregnancy are more likely to develop depression in the postpartum period. This study aims to investigate the possible association between depressive symptoms in the postpartum period and sleep related problems during pregnancy.In this study 293 women in the last trimester of pregnancy answered a questionnaire about symptoms of restless legs, snoring and daytime sleepiness. They also completed the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS). The same women were screened for depressive symptoms using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) four to ten weeks after giving birth. Additional information about social data, pregnancy and delivery was received from the medical charts.Women with postpartum depressive symptoms had higher prevalence of excessive daytime sleepiness defined as ESS score ≥10 (OR 3.84, CI 1.57-9.39), and restless legs syndrome (OR 2.837 CI 1.18-6.84) in last trimester of pregnancy, when adjusted for socio-demographic factors and obstetric risk factors. No association was found between postpartum depressive symptoms and snoring.Depressive symptoms after childbirth are preceded by sleep related problems such as daytime sleepiness and restless legs, already during pregnancy. The results from Epworth Sleepiness Scale and a questionnaire concerning Restless Legs Syndrome completed during pregnancy might be a valuable contribution for detecting women at risk for postpartum depression, enabling preventive interventions.

This study aimed to examine if there is a difference in the prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and sleepiness between pregnant and non-pregnant women. It also aimed to evaluate if obstetric outcomes were associated to sleep-disordered breathing among the pregnant women.

Objective: To determine if melatonin is equally efficient as partial sleep deprivation in inducing sleep without interfering with epileptiform discharges in EEG recordings in children 1-16 years old.Methods: We retrospectively analysed 129 EEGs recorded after melatonin intake and 113 EEGs recorded after partial sleep deprivation. Comparisons were made concerning occurrence of epileptiform discharges, the number of children who fell asleep and the technical quality of EEG recordings. Comparison between different age groups was also made.Results: No significant differences were found regarding occurrence of epileptiform discharges (33% after melatonin intake, 36% after sleep deprivation), or proportion of unsuccessful EEGs (8% and 10%, respectively). Melatonin and sleep deprivation were equally efficient in inducing sleep (70% in both groups). Significantly more children aged 1-4 years obtained sleep after melatonin intake in comparison to sleep deprivation (82% vs. 58%, p <= 0.01), and in comparison to older children with melatonin induced sleep (58-67%, p <= 0.05). Sleep deprived children 9-12 years old had higher percentage of epileptiform discharges (62%, p <= 0.05) compared to younger sleep deprived children.Conclusion: Melatonin is equally efficient as partial sleep deprivation to induce sleep and does not affect the occurrence of epileptiform discharges in the EEG recording. Sleep deprivation could still be preferable in older children as melatonin probably has less sleep inducing effect.Significance: Melatonin induced sleep have advantages, especially in younger children as they fall asleep easier than after sleep deprivation. The procedure is easier for the parents than keeping a young child awake for half the night. (c) 2014 International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Sleep disordered breathing (SDB) is prevalent in patients with heart failure (HF). The clinical signs of newly diagnosed HF and untreated SDB may overlap and patients in need of SDB treatment can therefore be difficult to identify in patients participating in disease management programmes (DMP). The aim was to describe the care process of two patients with HF involved in a DMP, focusing on the difficulties to identify and initiate treatment of SDB.A prospective case study design was used to follow one male (70 yrs) and one female (74 yrs) patient during 18 months at a Swedish University hospital. It took 5 to 10 months from diagnosis of HF until optimal treatment was reached for their heart conditions and 12 to 17 months until SDB was treated. None of the patients complained of poor sleep, but suffered from fatigue. In the male SDB was detected by the wife's complaints of her husband's snoring, apnoeas and restless sleep. In the female, SDB was detected after a detailed assessment of fatigue which was shown to be sleepiness. After optimal treatment of HF but before imitation of SDB treatment both cases cardiac function improved. For the female case improvements also were found in the blood pressure. SDB treatment improved fatigue in both patients. Initiation of HF treatment and self-care routines, as well as identification of SDB is complex and time consuming. Treatment of HF and SDB can improve sleep, cardiac function as well as disturbing associated symptoms.

Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is an effective treatment against obstructive sleep apnoea, but adherence is often low, and side effects are common. It is unclear from previous research whether side effects are significant causes of nonadherence. No study has examined if side effects vary within subjects over time. The aims were to (1) examine the evolution of CPAP side effects over time, and (2) prospectively assess correlations between early CPAP side effects and treatment adherence.

BACKGROUND:The incidence of snoring and sleepiness is known to increase during pregnancy, and this might impact maternal health and obstetric outcome. However, the association between snoring and sleepiness during pregnancy is not fully understood. This study was aimed at investigating the development of snoring during pregnancy and prospectively assessing if there is an association between snoring and sleepiness or adverse pregnancy outcomes, such as preeclampsia, mode of delivery, and fetal complications.METHODS:Consecutively recruited pregnant women (n = 500) received a questionnaire concerning snoring and sleep at the 1st and 3rd trimester of pregnancy. The women who had rated their frequency of snoring at both occasions (n = 340) were divided into subgroups according to the development of snoring they reported and included in the subsequent analyses. Additional medical data were collected from the medical records.RESULTS:The frequency of snoring was 7.9% in the 1st trimester and increased to 21.2% in the 3rd trimester of pregnancy. The women who snored already in early pregnancy had significantly higher baseline BMI (p = 0.001) than the women who never snored, but snoring was not associated with the magnitude of weight gain during pregnancy. Snoring women were more likely to experience edema in late pregnancy than the non-snorers. Women who started to snore during pregnancy had higher Epworth Sleepiness Scores than the non snorers in both early and late pregnancy. No significant association between obstetric outcome and snoring was found.CONCLUSION:Snoring does increase during pregnancy, and this increase is associated with sleepiness, higher BMI at the start of pregnancy and higher prevalence of edema, but not with weight gain.

A variety of techniques have been developed to monitor the depth of anaesthesia. Propofol's pharmacokinetics and response vary greatly, which might be explained by genetic polymorphisms. We investigated the impact of genetic variations on dosage, anaesthetic depth and recovery after total intravenous anaesthesia with propofol. A total of 101 patients were enrolled in the study. The plasma concentration of propofol during anaesthesia was measured using high-performance liquid chromatography. EEG was monitored during the surgical procedure as a measure of anaesthetic depth. Pyrosequencing was used to determine genetic polymorphisms in CYP2B6, CYP2C9, the UGTIA9-promotor and the GABRE gene. The correlation between genotype and to plasma concentration at the time of loss of consciousness (LOC), the total induction dose, the time to anaesthesia, eye opening and clearance were investigated. EEG monitoring showed that the majority of the patients had not reached a sufficient level of anaesthetic depth (subdelta) at the time of loss of consciousness despite a high induction dose of propofol. Patients with UGT1A9-331C/T had a higher propofol clearance than those without (p = 0.03) and required a higher induction dose (p = 0.03). The patients with UGT1A9-1818T/C required a longer time to LOC (p = 0.03). The patients with CYP2C9*2 had a higher concentration of propofol at the time of LOC (p = 0.02). The polymorphisms in the metabolizing enzymes and the receptor could not explain the large variation seen in the pharmacokinetics of propofol and the clinical response seen. At LOC, the patients showed a large difference in EEG pattern.

Objective: 1) To describe the prevalence of undiagnosed obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and depressive symptoms in hypertensive men and women below 65 years of age, and 2) to describe the association of OSA to subjective sleep complaints, depressive symptoms and global perceived health.Design: Cross-sectional design focusing on nursing care outcomes of obstructtive sleep apnea.Setting: Four primary care health centres in Sweden.PATIENTS: 411 consecutive patients (52% women), mean age 57.9 years (SD 5.9 years), with diagnosed hypertension (BP > 140/90).Main Outcome Measures: Prevalence of OSA and depressive symptoms, and association of OSA to sleep complaints, depressive symptoms and global perceived health.RESULTS: Mild, moderate and severe OSA was seen among 29%, 16% and 14% of patients, respectively.Depressive symptoms were seen in 16% of the total group, with a higher prevalence among men, compared to women, 21% vs. 12%.No differences were found regarding blood pressure, estimated sleep need, sleep sufficiency index, insomnia symp-toms, daytime sleepiness or depressive symptoms with respect to different degrees of OSA.Apnea-hypopnea index was significantly associated to perceived health after adjustment for gender and comorbidities, but when depressive symptoms and non-restorative sleep were added to the model, 33% of the variance in global perceived health was explained.Conclusion: OSA is highly prevalent among patients with hypertension in primary care and does together with sleep complaints and depressive symptoms have a negative impact on global perceived health.Hypertensive patients without subjective sleep complaints or depressive symptoms may still have OSA.

Background Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is in sleep clinic populations linked to hypertension, cardiovascular disease and increased mortality. This study sought to explore if men and women in primary care with a diagnosed hypertension and a self-rated high risk for OSA had more cardiovascular signs and risk factors compared to their counterparts with low risk and if those with high risk for OSA had more sleep-related symptoms. Methods Cross sectional design, all 480 hypertensive primary care patients underwent clinical examinations and filled in questionnaires. The Berlin sleep apnea questionnaire (BSAQ) was used to assess risk for OSA. Results Seventy-one percent of the men and 61% of the women had high risk for OSA. High-risk men and women had higher BMI and more often an increased waist circumference. Both reported less moderate physical activity and had more often elevated triglycerides. Men with high risk had more often reduced levels of HDL cholesterol and suffered from IHD. High-risk women used more diuretics. Blood pressure, subclinical organ damage, arrhythmias, or diabetes did not differ between high-risk and low-risk patients of any gender. Conclusion There were few differences regarding cardiovascular signs and risk factors associated with high OSA risk. Using self-rated high risk for OSA in secondary prevention for cardiovascular disease may not help healthcare personnel to identify cardiovascular signs and risk factors among hypertensive primary care patients. Keywords: hypertension; obstructive sleep apnea; cardiovascular risk factors; excessive daytime sleepiness; depressive symptoms. Received: April 19, 2013; Accepted: May 27, 2013; Published: August 10, 2013 Corresponding Author: Anders Brostrom, Department of Neurophysiology, University Hospital, S-581 85 Linkoping, Sweden. E-mail: anders.brostrom@hhj.hj.se .

The importance of adequate sleep for good health and immune system function is well documented as is reduced sleep quality experienced by ICU patients. In the previous issue of Critical Care, Elliot and co-workers present a well done, largest of its kind, single-center study on sleep patterns in critically ill patients. They base their study on the 'gold standard', the polysomnography technique, which is resource demanding to perform and often difficult to evaluate. The results are especially interesting as the authors not only used polysomnography in a large sample but also, in contrast to others, excluded patients with prior sleep problems. They also recorded patients' subjective sleep experiences in the ICU and thereafter in the ward (validated questionnaires) with simultaneous data collection of factors known to affect sleep in the ICU (mainly treatment interventions, light and sound disturbances). Interestingly, but not surprisingly, sleep was both quantitatively and qualitatively poor. Furthermore, there seemed to be little or no improvement over time when compared to earlier studies. This study stresses the magnitude of the sleep problem despite interventions such as earplugs and/or eyeshades. Sound disturbance was found to be the most significant but improvable factor. The study highlights the challenge and the importance of evaluating sleep in the critical care setting and the present need for alternative methods to measure it. All that in conjunction can be used to solve an important problem for this patient group.

Background: Hypertension (HT) and obesity have both been linked to obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). Difficulties have been described in identifying patients with OSA in primary care, causing low referral rates to sleep clinics. Increased knowledge about gender-specific characteristics and symptoms may help to identify patients.Aim: The aim was to describe gender differences regarding undiagnosed OSA, self-rated sleep, insomnia and daytime sleepiness in middle-aged primary care patients with HT and different degrees of obesity.Methods: A cross-sectional design was used and 394 patients (52.5% women), mean age 57.8 years (SD 6.7 years), with HT (BP > 140/90 mmHg) were included. Clinical examinations, respiratory recordings and self-rated scales regarding OSA symptoms, sleep, insomnia and daytime sleepiness were used. Body mass index (BMI) was classified according to the criteria from the National Institutes of Health.Results: Pre-obesity and obesity classes I and II were seen among 53%, 26% and 8% of the men and 37%, 19% and 14% of the women, respectively. Occurrence of mild, moderate and severe OSA increased significantly across the BMI classes for both genders (p<0.01). Ninety percent of the men and 80% of the women in obesity class II had OSA. Insomnia was prevalent in obese patients. Other clinical variables did not differ between BMI classes or genders.Conclusion: The occurrence of overweight/obesity and OSA was high among both genders. A high BMI might be a convenient clinical marker for healthcare personnel to identify hypertensive patients with possible OSA in need of further evaluation and treatment.