title: The deterioration of driving performance over time in drivers with untreated sleep apnea.
abstract: Sleep apnea increases risk of driving crashes when left untreated. This study examined the driving performance decrements of untreated, undiagnosed sleep apnea drivers compared with healthy controls in a monotonous highway driving simulator task. It was hypothesized that the sleep apnea group would perform worse during a driving simulator test compared with the control group. A significant group by time interaction occurred indicating that sleep apnea participants' performance degraded more quickly over the course of the drive. In contrast with previous studies, this sleep apnea group did not include sleep disorder center patients, but rather community volunteers whose screening indicated a significant apnea/hypopnea index of 15 or greater. There may be inherent differences between patients and nonpatients with sleep apnea, as patients may have a more significant impact on their quality of life, causing them to seek treatment. Still, the results are clear that although the sleep apnea group drove similarly to the control group at the start of the drive, they are sensitive to time on task effects. These results support the need to diagnose and treat sleep apnea.
authors: Old Dominion University, Department of Psychology, Norfolk, VA, United States; Sentara Healthcare, Sleep Centers, Norfolk, VA, United States. Electronic address: jlfreema@sentara.com.
authors: Jennifer F
authors: JF
authors: May
authors: Old Dominion University, Department of Psychology, Norfolk, VA, United States.
authors: Bryan E
authors: BE
authors: Porter
authors: Eastern Virginia Medical School, Division of Sleep Medicine, Norfolk, VA, United States.
authors: J Catesby
authors: JC
authors: Ware
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001334:Automobile Driving / Q000523:psychology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003198:Computer Simulation; D005221:Fatigue / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D011788:Quality of Life; D012891:Sleep Apnea Syndromes / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Driver fatigue; Driving performance; Sleep apnea; Sleepiness