Health-related quality of life in patients with obstructive sleep apnea: effects of long-term positive airway pressure treatment

The aim of the present study was to determine the effect of middle and long-term positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment on the health-related quality of life in patients with obstructive sleep apnea. We prospectively studied two groups of patients with this disease; a group of 42 patients (33 men and 9 women) with a mean age of 55.2±7.4 years and a body mass index of 33.5±6.4kg/m2 treated with CPAP for 6-months, and another group of 42 patients (34 men and 8 women) with a mean age of 54.4±10.5 years and a body mass index of 33.2±4.0kg/m2 treated with CPAP for 18-months. The health related quality of life was assessed by administering a Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-36 (SF-36) questionnaire before and after CPAP therapy. Patients treated with CPAP for 6 months only improved significantly in the vitality dimension and this change was clinically relevant (standard error of the measurement=1.43 SEmeas). In contrast, those treated with CPAP for a long period (18-month) showed statistically significant improvement at post-treatment in five SF-36 dimensions: physical functioning (P