0540 First Year PAP Trajectories among Treatment-Naive Youth with Sleep Disordered Breathing

Abstract

Abstract Introduction Little is known about the time course for youth adjusting to and achieving optimal PAP adherence. Methods This retrospective study identified 12-month PAP trajectories and treatment persistence following treatment initiation in youth. Participants were first-time PAP initiators receiving care at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital from 07/2017-12/2019. Electronic downloads provided monthly PAP use. Adherence indicators were frequency (percentage of nights PAP used each month) and duration of use (average usage hours on nights used each month). Persistence of group-level adherence (frequency and duration) was measured via descriptive statistics in SPSS. Adherence sub-groups were identified using longitudinal mixed models in MPlus. Results The sample was 169 youth ages 2-22yrs started on PAP. Within the first month, 55% of participants were using PAP >50% of nights and 43% were using for >4 hours/night. Adherence (frequency and duration, respectively) decreased by month as follows: month 3 - 48% and 42%; month 6 - 41% and 41%; month 12 - 36% and 32%. Longitudinal mixed models identified 5 trajectories for frequency of use (based on the model of best fit using BIC index): “starts high, stays high” (34% of sample); “starts high, slowly decreasing” (7%); “starts high, rapidly decreasing” (12%); “starts low, slowly increasing” (8%); “starts low, stays low” (39%). Two trajectories were identified for duration (average hours worn on nights used, also based on model of best fit) and included: “starts high, slowly increasing” (40%) and “starts low, stays low” (60%). Conclusion At the group level, PAP adherence was sub-optimal in the first month of use (around half of participants using PAP >50% of nights or for >4 hours) and declined over the subsequent 11 months. However, mixed models identified distinct adherence subgroups, with about 40% of the sample falling into subgroups with relatively high adherence by month 12. This suggests acclimation to PAP takes time in a pediatric population. Findings may help clinicians/policy makers set realistic expectations around time to achieve optimal PAP adherence among youth, and highlights the need for further PAP adherence promotion interventions. Support (If Any) First, and fourth authors’ time supported by NIH post-doctoral training grants (T32 DK063929 and T32HD068223, respectively).