SLEEP APNEA AND ANXIETY: A PUBMED SEARCH ON THOSE TERMS YIELDS 243 RESULTS.

THERE ARE MANY STUDIES THAT SUGGEST NEGATIVE HEALTH EFFECTS FROM POOR SLEEP. AN ARTICLE IN Behav Sleep Med. 2010 Jul;8(3):157-71. TITLED Sleepiness and health in midlife women: results of the National Sleep Foundation's 2007 Sleep in America poll CONCLDES THAT " sleep disruptions and daytime sleepiness negatively affect the daily life of midlife women."

ANOTHER ARTICLE IN J Adolesc Health. 2010 Feb;46(2):124-32. Epub 2009 Aug 3.
Sleep patterns and predictors of disturbed sleep in a large population of college students CONCLUDES THAT "insufficient sleep and irregular sleep-wake patterns, which have been extensively documented in younger adolescents, are also present at alarming levels in the college student population. Given the close relationships between sleep quality and physical and mental health, intervention programs for sleep disturbance in this population should be considered."

A THIRD ARTICLE IN Acta Otorrinolaringol Esp. 2009 Sep-Oct;60(5):325-31. Epub 2009 Aug 13.
[Neurocognitive and behavioural abnormalities in paediatric sleep-related breathing disorders] CONCLUDES THAT " A high prevalence of behavioural and neurocognitive abnormalities was observed in children with sleep-related breathing disorders compared to a control group of healthy children. The use of objective assessment such as psychological tests revealed more abnormalities than were expressed by parents in response to clinical interviews."

IT APPEARS THAT RGARDLESS OF AGE AND/OR HEALTH STATUS SLEEP DISORDERS WREAK HAVOC ON BOTH PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL WELL BEING.


Behav Sleep Med. 2010 Jul;8(3):157-71.
Sleepiness and health in midlife women: results of the National Sleep Foundation's 2007 Sleep in America poll.
Chasens ER, Twerski SR, Yang K, Umlauf MG.

School of Nursing, University of Pittsburgh, 3500 Victoria Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA. chasense@pitt.edu
Abstract
The 2007 Sleep in America poll, a random-sample telephone survey, provided data for this study of sleep in community-dwelling women aged 40 to 60 years. The majority of the respondents were post- or perimenopausal, overweight, married or living with someone, and reported good health. A subsample (20%) reported sleepiness that consistently interfered with daily life; the sleepy subsample reported more symptoms of insomnia, restless legs syndrome, obstructive sleep apnea, depression and anxiety, as well as more problems with health-promoting behaviors, drowsy driving, job performance, household duties, and personal relationships. Hierarchical regression showed that sleepiness along with depressive symptoms, medical comorbidities, obesity, and lower education were associated with poor self-rated health, whereas menopause status (pre-, peri- or post-) was not. These results suggest that sleep disruptions and daytime sleepiness negatively affect the daily life of midlife women.

PMID: 20582759 [PubMed - in process]

J Adolesc Health. 2010 Feb;46(2):124-32. Epub 2009 Aug 3.
Sleep patterns and predictors of disturbed sleep in a large population of college students.
Lund HG, Reider BD, Whiting AB, Prichard JR.

Department of Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, USA.
Abstract
PURPOSE: To characterize sleep patterns and predictors of poor sleep quality in a large population of college students. This study extends the 2006 National Sleep Foundation examination of sleep in early adolescence by examining sleep in older adolescents.

METHOD: One thousand one hundred twenty-five students aged 17 to 24 years from an urban Midwestern university completed a cross-sectional online survey about sleep habits that included the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), the Epworth Sleepiness Scale, the Horne-Ostberg Morningness-Eveningness Scale, the Profile of Mood States, the Subjective Units of Distress Scale, and questions about academic performance, physical health, and psychoactive drug use.

RESULTS: Students reported disturbed sleep; over 60% were categorized as poor-quality sleepers by the PSQI, bedtimes and risetimes were delayed during weekends, and students reported frequently taking prescription, over the counter, and recreational psychoactive drugs to alter sleep/wakefulness. Students classified as poor-quality sleepers reported significantly more problems with physical and psychological health than did good-quality sleepers. Students overwhelmingly stated that emotional and academic stress negatively impacted sleep. Multiple regression analyses revealed that tension and stress accounted for 24% of the variance in the PSQI score, whereas exercise, alcohol and caffeine consumption, and consistency of sleep schedule were not significant predictors of sleep quality.

CONCLUSIONS: These results demonstrate that insufficient sleep and irregular sleep-wake patterns, which have been extensively documented in younger adolescents, are also present at alarming levels in the college student population. Given the close relationships between sleep quality and physical and mental health, intervention programs for sleep disturbance in this population should be considered.

PMID: 20113918 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Acta Otorrinolaringol Esp. 2009 Sep-Oct;60(5):325-31. Epub 2009 Aug 13.
[Neurocognitive and behavioural abnormalities in paediatric sleep-related breathing disorders]
[Article in Spanish]

Esteller Moré E, Barceló Mongil M, Segarra Isern F, Piñeiro Aguín Z, Pujol Olmo A, Soler EM, Ademà Alcover JM.

Servicio de Otorrinolaringología, Hospital General de Catalunya, San Cugat del Vallès, Barcelona, España. esteller@abaforum.es
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Behavioural and neurocognitive abnormalities in children may be a consequence of sleep-related breathing disorders. The effectiveness of assessments based on questioning parents is dubious and objective assessment tools are therefore required.

AIM: To ascertain the impact of these abnormalities in children with sleep-related breathing disorders and compare the reliability of questioning parents in relation to validated psychological tests.

METHOD: A prospective study was performed on 20 children with sleep-related breathing disorders and 20 healthy control children between 3 and 12 years of age. Both groups were subjected to a battery of validated psychological tests. The results of both groups were compared with each other and with the response to clinical questionnaires given to parents in the problem group.

RESULTS: More than 75% of the cases in the problem group presented abnormalities with regard to attention, anxiety, memory and spatial structuring. The percentage involvement in all concepts was higher in the problem group. Comparisons of attention (40% of children affected in the control group and 80% in the problem group), memory (50% and 84.2%), and spatial structuring (45% and 75%) were statistically significant. More abnormality was observed in the parameters assessed with psychological tests than the equivalent concept obtained from interviewing the parents. Comparison of abnormal concentration assessed from the questionnaires (40% of children affected) with attention during the psychological test (80%), memory (15% and 84.21%), and delayed language development (10%) compared to spatial structuring (75%) was statistically significant.

CONCLUSIONS: A high prevalence of behavioural and neurocognitive abnormalities was observed in children with sleep-related breathing disorders compared to a control group of healthy children. The use of objective assessment such as psychological tests revealed more abnormalities than were expressed by parents in response to clinical interviews.

PMID: 19814984 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]Free Article