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Effect of personality traits on adherence with positive airway pressure therapy in obstructive sleep apnea patients

  • Sleep Breathing Physiology and Disorders • Original Article
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Abstract

Purpose

Patient adherence with positive airway pressure (PAP) therapy is a significant clinical problem in obstructive sleep apnea treatment. Personality traits may be a factor for non-adherence. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between PAP therapy adherence and patient personality traits.

Methods

Patients were screened and recruited during their visit to a sleep clinic. Baseline data were collected from each patient’s electronic chart. Behavioral inhibition system/behavioral activation system (BIS/BAS) scales, short measure of five-factor model personality traits (mini-IPIP), positive and negative affect score (PANAS), and appetitive motivation scores (AMS) tests were used to measure personality traits. Data from the PAP device were obtained following a minimum of an initial 30 days, with adherence defined as >4 h/night on 70% of nights. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression and Pearson correlation tests were used to analyze the data.

Results

A total of 400 patients were recruited. Three hundred twenty-one patients had all the data and were included in the study. Behavioral activation system–fun seeking (BAS-FS) and, to a certain extent, negative affect were significantly associated with adherence. Intellect/imagination was marginally significant. Additionally, older age (>65 years), profession, PAP type, side effects, efficiency, apnea–hypopnea index (AHI), and residual AHI showed significant associations with patient adherence with PAP therapy. Multivariate analysis revealed that BAS-FS was still a significant predictor of adherence even after adjusting for other covariates.

Conclusion

BAS-FS, negative affect, and intellect/imagination are significant factors for adherence to PAP therapy in obstructive sleep apnea patients.

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Abbreviations

PSG:

Polysomnography

PAP:

Positive airway pressure

AHI:

Apnea–hypopnea index

BMI:

Body mass index

APAP:

Auto positive airway pressure

CPAP:

Continuous positive airway pressure

BiPAP:

Bi-level positive airway pressure

OSA:

Obstructive sleep apnea

BIS/BAS:

Behavioral inhibition system/behavioral activation system

Mini-IPIP :

Mini international personality item pool

PANAS:

Positive and negative affect score

AMS:

Appetitive motivation scores

PTSD:

Post-traumatic stress disorder

PLMS:

Periodic leg movement syndrome

RLS:

Restless leg syndrome

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Funding

No funding was received for this research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Captain James Lovell Federal Health Care Center, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, North Chicago, IL, USA

    Ahmet Sinan Copur, Haris Shekhani, Sipan Mathevosian, Imtiazali Kadri, Leandra Wallace, Edwin Simon & Ashok M. Fulambarker

  2. 424 Park Lane, Lake Bluff,, Shields Township,, IL, 60044, USA

    Ahmet Sinan Copur

  3. East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, USA

    D. Erik Everhart & James Loveless

  4. Biostatistics & Bioinformatics Shared Resource, Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Chao Zhang & Zhengjia Chen

  5. Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA

    Eric Watson

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  1. Ahmet Sinan Copur
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  2. D. Erik Everhart
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  3. Chao Zhang
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Correspondence to Ahmet Sinan Copur.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed consent

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

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Copur, A.S., Erik Everhart, D., Zhang, C. et al. Effect of personality traits on adherence with positive airway pressure therapy in obstructive sleep apnea patients. Sleep Breath 22, 369–376 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11325-017-1559-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11325-017-1559-5

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