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Comorbid insomnia symptoms predict lower 6-month adherence to CPAP in US veterans with obstructive sleep apnea

  • Sleep Breathing Physiology and Disorders • Original Article
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Abstract

Purpose

There is limited information on the association between pre-treatment insomnia symptoms and dysfunctional sleep beliefs with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) adherence in veterans with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Our aims were to describe demographic and sleep characteristics of veterans with and without comorbid insomnia and determine whether pre-treatment insomnia symptoms and dysfunctional sleep beliefs predict CPAP use after 6 months of therapy.

Methods

Hispanic veterans attending the Miami VA sleep clinic were recruited and completed the insomnia severity index, the dysfunctional sleep belief and attitude scale (DBAS), and other questionnaires. Participants were asked to return after 7 days and 1 and 6 months to repeat questionnaires and for objective CPAP adherence download. Hierarchical regression models were performed to determine adjusted associations of pre-treatment insomnia symptoms and DBAS sub-scores on 6-month mean daily CPAP use.

Results

Fifty-three participants completed the 6-month follow-up visit with a mean CPAP use of 3.4 ± 1.9 h. Veterans with comorbid insomnia had lower mean daily CPAP use (168 ± 125 vs 237 ± 108 min, p = 0.04) and lower percent daily CPAP use ≥ 4 h (32 ± 32 vs 51 ± 32%, p = 0.05) compared to participants without insomnia. In adjusted analyses, pre-treatment insomnia symptoms (early, late, and aggregated nocturnal symptoms) and sleep dissatisfaction were predictive of lower CPAP use at 6 months. Pre-treatment dysfunctional sleep beliefs were not associated with CPAP adherence.

Conclusions

Pre-treatment nocturnal insomnia symptoms and sleep dissatisfaction predicted poorer 6- month CPAP use. Insomnia treatment preceding or concurrent with CPAP initiation may eliminate a barrier to regular use.

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Funding

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine Foundation provided financial support in the form of an educational grant (Dr. Shafazand). The sponsor had no role in the design or conduct of this research.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurology, Sleep Medicine Division, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA

    Douglas M. Wallace

  2. Neurology Service, Bruce W. Carter Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 1201 NW 16th Street, Miami, FL, 33125, USA

    Douglas M. Wallace

  3. Pennsylvania State University College of Nursing, University Park, PA, USA

    A. M. Sawyer

  4. Department of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA

    S. Shafazand

Authors
  1. Douglas M. Wallace
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  2. A. M. Sawyer
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  3. S. Shafazand
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Correspondence to Douglas M. Wallace.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in the study were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in this study.

Additional information

This article is part of the Topical Collection on Comorbid Insomnia and OSA (COMISA) in Veterans.

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Wallace, D.M., Sawyer, A.M. & Shafazand, S. Comorbid insomnia symptoms predict lower 6-month adherence to CPAP in US veterans with obstructive sleep apnea. Sleep Breath 22, 5–15 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11325-017-1605-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11325-017-1605-3

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