Sleep apnoea patients at higher risk of severe motor vehicle accidents

A new study has found that the severity of motor vehicle crashes involving personal injury in people with obstructive sleep apnoea is higher than those who do not suffer from the disorder.

Washington, May 21 : A new study has found that the severity of motor vehicle crashes involving personal injury in people with obstructive sleep apnoea is higher than those who do not suffer from the disorder.

In obstructive sleep apnoea, the upper airway narrows, or collapses, during sleep. Periods of apnoea end with a brief partial arousal that may disrupt sleep hundreds of times a night. Obesity is a major risk factor for sleep apnoea.

The study as part of UBC Sleep Disorders Program in Vancouver, British Columbia, was conducted by a team of researchers led by Alan Mulgrew at the University of British Columbia.

As part of the study, researchers analysed 800 people with sleep apnoea and 800 without the night-time breathing disorder.

Researchers found that patients with sleep apnoea were twice as likely as people without sleep apnoea to have a car crash, and three to five times as likely to have a serious crash involving personal injury.

Overall, the sleep apnoea group had a total of 250 crashes over three years, compared with 123 crashes in the group without sleep appends.

"We were surprised not only about how many of the sleep apnoea patients' crashes involved personal injury, but that some patients had fairly mild sleep apnea and were still having serious crashes," Mulgrew said.

Patients' self-reported feeling of sleepiness was not found to be linked with an increased risk of car crashes, suggesting that patients are unaware of their driving hazard. Even patients with fairly mild sleep apnoea were at increased risk of car crashes.

"Based on these findings, I now consider driving risk when deciding on treatment for patients with mild sleep apnoea," Mulgrew added.

The study also found, that while in the general population men have more vehicle crashes than women, among sleep apnoea patients, men and women crash at a similar rate.

The findings of the study were presented at the American Thoracic Society 2007 International Conference.

ANI