You may have mild sleep apnea and feel fine avoiding CPAP therapy. But, get this…a recent European study showed that CPAP therapy can improve daytime sleepiness even in patients with low levels of sleep apnea symptoms. Even the doctors conducting this study were surprised by the results.
According to Dr. Sonya Craig, a research fellow at Churchill Hospital at Oxford, “Treatment with CPAP clearly reduced daytime sleepiness and improved quality of life in patients with very limited symptoms.”
The study involved 341 patients with sleep apnea but who had insufficient current symptoms as judged by the patient and the physician to justify CPAP therapy. Patients were randomly chosen to receive either six months of CPAP or no treatment.
What researchers found was that after six months of treatment, CPAP therapy significantly reduced daytime sleepiness and increased wakefulness. They also found that the odds of falling asleep during the Oxford Sleep Resistance Test, which requires the patient to lie quietly and react to a flashing light for prolonged periods of time at repeated intervals, were significantly lower in the CPAP treatment group. Quality of life also improved for these patients.
The takeaway from this study is clear. Assessment of patients for sleep apnea does not identify all patients who may benefit from CPAP therapy. Researchers will continue to follow the patients from this study to assess whether the improvements are maintained over a longer time period.
Wow.
Read about the study at Medical News Today.
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