Health-Related Quality of Life in Thai Patients with
Obstructive Sleep Disordered Breathing
Wish Banhiran MD*, Paraya Assanasen MD*,
Choakchai Metheetrairut MD*, Wattanachai Chotinaiwattarakul MD**
Affiliation :
* Department of OtoRhinoLaryngology, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand
** Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand
Objective : To assess the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of Thai patients with obstructive sleep disordered breathing
(OSDB) and their responses to continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment.
Material and Method: Thirty-eight healthy volunteers, 35 primary snorers (PS), and 108 patients with obstructive sleep
apnea (OSA) diagnosed with polysomnography (PSG) were asked to fill questionnaires including Thai version of Short
Form-36 (SF-36), and Epworth sleepiness scale (ESS). Thirty-two subjects with OSA who had been using CPAP adequately
were asked to complete SF-36 twice, before and three months after treatment initiation.
Results : The role-physical and general health dimensions of SF-36 in OSA patients and PS were significantly lower than
healthy volunteers (p<0.05). Other dimensions were not significantly different among groups of subjects. Nonetheless, the
scores in all dimensions of SF-36 in OSA patients were lower than those of general population of Thailand, except for
mental health. There were only weak but significant correlations between physical function, role-physical, general health,
vitality, and role-emotional dimensions and ESS scores (r = 0.17-0.29). Most of PSG parameters, particularly apnea-
hypopnea index, did not correlate with SF-36 scores except for a weak correlation between mean oxygen saturation and
role-physical, mental health, and vitality dimensions. However, there was a significant improvement in all dimensions of
SF-36 after three months of adequate CPAP therapy (p<0.01).
Conclusion : Thai patients with OSDB had poorer HRQOL compared to healthy subjects and general population at least
in some dimensions, and an effective CPAP use can improve them. However, there was almost no relationship between
HRQOL and PSG findings.
Keywords : Quality of life, Obstructive sleep disordered breathing, Sleep apnea, Thai
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