Work

Is Insomnia a Breathing Disorder?

Year: 2012

Type: article

Abstract: Increased frequency of awakening is a well-documented component of chronic insomnia, but the etiology of nocturnal awakenings in these patients has received surprisingly sparse attention in sleep research. Both behavioral therapy and pharmacotherapy for insomnia are associated with self-reported decreases in number of awakenings.1 In this issue of SLEEP, Krakow and colleagues2 provide intriguing polysomnography (PSG) data about such awakenings in a group of patients whose chief complaint was chronic insomnia. The study was reported as “preliminary”; as such it involved a relatively small sample size (N = 20) and it was uncontrolled, yet the findings certainly raise important questions regarding the nature of awakenings in this population. Despite the fact that patients with clinical indicators of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) were specifically excluded from the study sample, approximately 90% of awakenings were preceded by respiratory-related events. Most striking is that 11 of 20 participants met clinical criteria for OSA and they had a mean apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) of 14.4 (SD = 16.3); 7 others had upper airway resistance syndrome (UARS).2 Taken at face value, this suggests a sizable prevalence of occult sleep disordered breathing (SDB) among these patients who had treatment-resistant chronic insomnia.

Source: SLEEP

DOI: 10.5665/sleep.2222

Authors: Wilfred R. Pigeon, Michael J. Sateia

Institutions: University of Rochester Medicine, Canandaigua VA Medical Center, Syracuse VA Medical Center, University of Rochester, Dartmouth–Hitchcock Medical Center

Language: English

Topic: Obstructive Sleep Apnea Research

Subfield: Physiology

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: green

Funders: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Purdue Pharma