• Martina Vigorè, Eugenia Taurino, Rita Maestroni, Valeria Torlaschi, Marina Maffoni, Roberto Maestri, Antonia Pierobon, and Francesco Fanfulla.
• Psychology Unit, Istituti Clinici Scientifici Maugeri IRCCS, Institute of Montescano, Montescano, Pavia, Italy.
• Minerva Med. 2021 Jun 1; 112 (3): 346-353.

BackgroundObstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is often associated with clinical, psychological and neuropsychological comorbidities such as Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). This study evaluated changes in clinical, psychosocial, Health Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) and neuropsychological profile in OSA subjects after ventilatory therapy, making comparison with normative data. The aim of the study was to verify the suitability of the HRQoL and neuropsychological screening tests in detecting variations in OSA subjects.MethodsAt baseline, 32 OSA subjects underwent the following assessment: EuroQol (EQ-5D-3L) and EQ VAS, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB). After the ventilatory titration, 31 OSA subjects repeated the EQ VAS, MoCA and FAB assessment.ResultsThe analyzed subjects (77% male, 58.97±10.06 years old and 47.34±26.67 AHI [ev*hr-1]) showed low emotive distress, a lower perception of HRQoL than normative data and 35.48% of them exhibited executive deficits, too. MCI was detected in 3.2% and 48.4% of subjects after normative Italian and international correction, respectively. Subsequently the ventilatory therapy and the rehabilitative interdisciplinary treatment, subjects improved in EQ VAS (68.23±18.73 vs. 87.13±10.80, P=0.0001), FAB scores (15,30±2.03 vs. 16,65±1,40, P=0.007) and MoCA memory subtest scores (2.16±1.34 vs. 3.06±1.63, P=0.008).ConclusionsVentilatory therapy provided during a rehabilitative and interdisciplinary program increased subjects' HRQoL, executive functions and verbal memory.

24 keywords...

hide…