Sleep apnea syndrome in chronic spinal cord injury: associated factors and treatment.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the prevalence of sleep apnea in a sample of persons with chronic spinal cord injury (SCI) of varying injury levels and degrees of impairment.


METHODS
Cross-sectional study.


METHODS
Inpatient SCI rehabilitation unit.


METHODS
Twenty men with SCI (motor complete and incomplete; American Spinal Injury Association classes A-D) of at least 1 year's duration, randomly selected from patients with SCI undergoing elective hospitalization.


METHODS
Apnea index, determined by sleep study (including chest wall movement, airflow, oxygen saturation), and daytime sleepiness, determined by Epworth sleepiness score.


RESULTS
Eight subjects (40%) had sleep apnea, manifested by elevated apnea index (mean +/- SD, 17.1 +/- 6.9) and excessive daytime sleepiness. Sleep apnea was commonly diagnosed in motor-incomplete injuries. A trend (p = .07) existed toward a greater prevalence of sleep apnea with tetraplegia. Age and body mass index were not associated with sleep apnea.


CONCLUSIONS
The prevalence of sleep apnea in men with chronic SCI admitted for nonrespiratory elective hospitalization is high relative to the general population.
Burns
S P
SP
Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, USA. spburns@u.washington.edu
Little
J W
JW
Hussey
J D
JD
Lyman
P
P
Lakshminarayanan
S
S
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012891:Sleep Apnea Syndromes / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000150:complications* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014861:Washington / Q000453:epidemiology