Neuropsychiatric consequences in obstructive sleep apnea syndrome & traffic safety

Introduction Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome (OSAS) lead to physical problems like hypertension and arrhythmias ad mostly to neuropsychiatric consequences like Brain atrophy, Depression Anxiety and Insomnia. Apart from a multitude of physical complaints, OSAS patients suffer from excessive daytime spleepiness, reduced sustained attention, limited memory processes and cognitive functions, Among other aspects, such a decline in performance infl uences the persons affected in their ability to drive a car. Considering the poor knowledge of reliable facts of etiology in neuropsychiatric diseases could show unusually cleancut conditions of interference with the mechanism of mental and sensorymotor plasticity.

Methods In our study we used neuropsychological and neuropsychiatric methods: in different patient groups in a sleep laboratory. Over the past fi ve years we have been testing more than 2000 patients, During admission to the clinic, all patients were selected according to their clinical diagnosis (ICD10) and all patients were examined neurologically, neuropsychologically and psychiatrically. All test presons must not suffer from any severe psychiatric disorders. The study was carried out involving all groups of randomly selected patients with OSAS on a number of neuropsychiatric parameters.

Results Testing of neurolopsychiatric diseases and diffi culties and quality of life revealed a highly signifi cant difference between healthy persons and OSAS patients (p < 0.05). Examination of specifi c domains of neuropsychiatric diseases and quality of life, untrated OSAS petients had inferiority scores than those who had undergone therapy. After more than 6 weeks nCPAP therapy, the neuropsychiatric diseases of the OSAS patients, and quality of life improved to a signifi cant degree (p < 0.05). Analysis of the degree of severity showed for OSAS that on the whole, there is a signifi cant difference concerning neuropsychiatric diseases and quality of life.

Discussion The study revealed that patients with OSAS whos neuropsychiatric problems and defi cits concerning their vigilance achievements, their memory processes and their quality of life. The improvement if vigilance achievements and memory processes show a lower driving fi tness (traffi c safety) in untreated patients and increasing traffi c safety in treated patients. In summary, based on our results, it is to be said that although a continuous nCPAP therapy improves the OSAS symptoms; neuropsychiatric consequences and the quality of life require longerterm degeneration.