Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) Patients May Have Reduced Quality of Life

Patients suffering from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) experience a lower quality of life, revealed a new research. The findings also suggested that such people experienced more sleepiness, and less adherence and response to positive airway pressure (PAP) therapy. A case-controlled study conducted at the Sleep Disorders Center at the San Antonio Military Medical Center in Fort Sam Houston, TX, performed sleep studies on 200 military medical patients with PTSD and found that over half were diagnosed with OSA. These patients were compared with 50 matched patients with OSA but not PTSD and with another 50 patients without PTSD or OSA controls.

This study showed that compared with the other groups, patients with both PTSD and OSA had worse quality of life measurements, more sleepiness, and less adherence and response to treatment.

The results point out that patients with PTSD are also at high risk of having OSA and should be evaluated accordingly. Patients with both PTSD and OSA should also be followed especially closely for adherence and response to PAP treatment.

The complete study, ’Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: Clinical Outcomes and Impact of PAP Therapy’ is published in the CHEST.

Source-Eurekalert