S Sl le ee ep p--r re el la at te ed d r re es sp pi ir ra at to or ry y d di is st tu ur rb ba an nc ce es s i in n p pa at ti ie en nt ts s w wi it th h D Du uc ch he en nn ne e m mu us sc cu ul la ar r d dy ys st tr ro op ph hy y Four patients (67%) showed symptoms that suggest sleep-related respiratory disturbances. At night, the apnoea-hypopnoea index (AHI) was 11±6. The patients with more symptoms during the daytime had the highest AHI scores. Most of the apnoeas (85%) were central, particularly during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Sleep architecture was well-preserved. Arterial desaturation (>5% below baseline) occurred during 25±23% of total time. AHI correlated with daytime PaO 2 , and AHI in REM sleep correlated with age. A stepwise multivariate analysis showed that PaO 2 and, to some extent, the degree of airflow obstruction were significantly correlated with AHI.We conclude that sleep-related respiratory disturbances are frequently present in patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Therefore, physicians should look for symptoms related to sleep-related respiratory disturbances in these patients. Furthermore, sleep-related respiratory disturbances should be strongly suspected in older Duchenne muscular dystrophy patients, particularly if diurnal arterial hypoxaemia is concurrently present.

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