title: Sleep apnea syndrome in chronic spinal cord injury: associated factors and treatment.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, USA. spburns@u.washington.edu
authors.forename: S P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Burns
authors.forename: J W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Little
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Hussey
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lyman
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lakshminarayanan
mesh_terms: 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