Sleepiness, Fatigue, Tiredness, and Lack of Energy in Obstructive Sleep Apnea

摘要

Study objectives: Sleepiness is a key symptom in obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) andncan be objectively assessed with a multiple sleep latency test (MSLT). We studied the terms thatnpatients prefer to describe their symptoms—sleepiness, fatigue, tiredness, or lack of energy—andnhow these terms relate to objective findings.nDesign: Observational.nSetting: University-based sleep laboratory.nPatients: Consecutive OSAS patients referred for diagnostic polysomnography and an MSLT.nMethods: Data were obtained from sleep studies and questionnaires.nResults: Subjects included 117 men and 73 women, with a mean (6 SD) age of 49 6 13 years, annapnea and hypopnea rate of 32 6 28/h of sleep, and an MSLT mean sleep latency of 7 6 5 min.nSubjects more frequently reported problems with fatigue, tiredness, and lack of energy thannsleepiness (57%, 61%, and 62% vs 47%). When required to select the one most significantnsymptom, more patients chose lack of energy (about 40%) than any other problem, includingnsleepiness (about 22%). Objective measures of sleepiness and apnea severity showed little or nonassociation with any symptom, but female gender showed significant associations with each.nConclusions: Complaints of fatigue, tiredness, or lack of energy may be as important as that ofnsleepiness to OSAS patients, among whom women appear to have all such complaints morenfrequently than men. The diagnosis of OSAS should not be excluded based only on a person’sntendency to emphasize fatigue, tiredness, or lack of energy more than sleepiness.