title: [A study of attention networks in patients with obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To explore the different aspects of attention function in patients with obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) and further to investigate the factors related to the impairments.
  
  
  METHODS
  After one night polysomnography (PSG) monitoring, a total of 50 patients with OSAHS and 40 demographic-matched healthy controls received basic cognitive assessment with a neuropsychological battery and then performed the attention networks test (ANT) was performed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared with healthy controls, patients with OSAHS performed significantly worse on cognitive tests and emotion evaluation including Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), stroop, verbal fluency, digital span, Hamilton anxiety scale (HAMA) and Beck depression inventory (BDI). With regard to ANT, significant group differences were found in executive control network [(138 ± 58) ms vs (104 ± 37) ms, P=0.003], but not in alertness [(33 ± 36) ms vs (33 ± 18)ms, P=0.975] or orientation [(48 ± 30)ms vs (51 ± 22) ms, P=0.674]. Correlation analysis indicated that the scores of the executive control network was positively correlated with the longest apnea time during the night (r=0.620, P=0.006), but was negatively correlated with the average oxygen saturation(r=-0.869, P=0.000) and the lowest oxygen saturation (r=-0.577, P=0.019).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Patients with OSAHS were associated with impaired attention function, especially in the executive control network efficiency. Chronic hypoxia and apnea during the sleep may be the key factors that could diminish their attention and executive function.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230022, China.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Chong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pei
authors.forename: Feifei
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: Panpan
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Email: wangkai1964@126.com.
authors.forename: Kai
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D001288:Attention; D006801:Humans; D000860:Hypoxia; D017286:Polysomnography; D012890:Sleep; D020181:Sleep Apnea, Obstructive