Vigilance and neuropsychological capacity in obstructive sleep apnea syndrome and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

SummaryPatients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) commonly complain of a decline of cognitive functions. These deficits can be due to sleep fragmentation or chronic hypoxemia. Although patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) present severe hypoxemia neuropsychological deficits are rarely reported. In the present study OSAS- and COPD patients were compared in order to reveal the importance of hypoxemia. 31 male OSAS-patients (50.1±9.4 years), 32 male COPD-patients (57.4±8.2 years), 10 male volunteers (48.0±9.9 years) were investigated by several computerized neuropsychological tests. Polysomnography was carried out the night before. 15 OSAS patients could be reinvestigated after 6 months of nCPAP-(nasal continuous positive airway pressure) therapy. Polysomnography revealed a lack of sleep stages 3 and 4 in both patient groups. Both patient groups presented a nearly identical profile concerning neuropsychological deficits. Compared to controls deficits in alertness (p