Long-term Sleep Evaluation of First Night Effect in Patients with Suspected Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome using Objective and Subjective Measures

Abstract

Objectives:In order to examine the first night effect in suspected Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome (OSAS) patients, we performed night Polysomnography (PSG), the long-term actigraphic recording and the self-reported sleep questionnaire. Methods: Nine patients with mild OSAS and four patients with severe OSAS participated in the study. Sleep evaluation was assessed by PSG, 5 days actigraphic recording including PSG night, and the St Mary' s Hospital Sleep Questionnaire. Objective and subjective sleep quality was compared between two groups. Results: There were no significant difference between groups in PSG, actigraphic recording of PSG night, and the perceived quality of sleep. However, the patients with severe OSAS showed poor sleep quality in the long-term actigraphic recording. Conclusions: Our results suggested that long-term recording using actigraphy is useful for sleep evaluation of OSAS patients, and that subjective sleep evaluation may be difficult to adequately assess sleep quality in patients with severe OSAS.