• Yun Li, Alexandros Vgontzas, Ilia Kritikou, Julio Fernandez-Mendoza, Maria Basta, Slobodanka Pejovic, Jordan Gaines, and Edward O Bixler.
• Sleep Research and Treatment Center, Department of Psychiatry, Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania.
• J Clin Sleep Med. 2017 Sep 15; 13 (9): 1049-1056.

Study ObjectivesExcessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) is a key symptom of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). The Psychomotor Vigilance Task (PVT) has been suggested as an objective easy-to-use, inexpensive alternative to the Multiple Sleep Latency Test (MSLT) to measure EDS. In patients with OSA, physiological sleepiness, but not subjective EDS (Epworth Sleepiness Scale [ESS]), has been associated with increased levels of the sleep- inducing proinflammatory cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6). The goal of this study was to assess the association of PVT with objectively measured sleepiness (MSLT) and subjectively measured sleepiness (ESS) and IL-6 levels in patients with OSA.MethodsWe studied 58 untreated patients with OSA who underwent an 8-hour in-laboratory polysomnography for 4 consecutive nights. MSLT, PVT, and 24-hour serial profiles of IL-6 were assessed on the fourth day. PVT variables included number of lapses, mean reciprocal of the fastest 10% and slowest 10% reaction times, and median of 1/reaction time. ESS was assessed on day 1 of the study.ResultsHigher ESS scores were significantly associated with greater number of lapses (β = .34, P = .02) and lower values of 1/RT (β = -.36, P = .01) and slowest 10% RTs (β = -.30, P = .04). No significant association was observed between PVT and MSLT, nor PVT and IL-6 levels.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that PVT is associated with subjectively assessed daytime sleepiness, but not with physiological sleepiness nor IL-6 levels in patients with OSA. It appears that ESS and PVT may be useful in predicting risks associated with impaired performance, such as traffic accidents, in patients with OSA.© 2017 American Academy of Sleep Medicine

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