The role of fatigue and sleepiness in drivers with obstructive sleep apnea

Abstract

BackgroundThe present investigation examines the role of daytime sleepiness and fatigue and how these relate to driving behaviors and risk assessment in people newly diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). MethodsWe recruited 47 individuals, (24 female, 23 male), between the ages of 25 and 71 (mean age = 51, SD = 11.28). Of those, 24 individuals were newly diagnosed with OSA and 23 individuals were in a comparison sample with similar proportions of biological sex and ages, who tested negative for OSA. All participants completed questionnaire measures related to sleep, psychological adjustment, driving behavior, sleepiness and fatigue, immediately after their follow-up appointment. We collected data on driving violations from registered driving records for the 5 years preceding their enrolment in the study, as well as sleep-related data for all participants. ResultsResults show that individuals with OSA (M = 1.08, SD = 1.38) do not commit more driving violations than control participants (M = 0.64, SD = 1.26). Although drivers with OSA indicate significantly worse scores for fatigue (M = 7.73, SD = 3.71) compared with controls (M = 4.26, SD = 3.66), there was no significant difference for sleepiness between drivers with OSA (M = 10, SD = 3.57) and Controls (M = 8, SD = 3.69). An association between driving violations and sleepiness was found for drivers with OSA – r (24) = −0.45, p < .05 – but not for Controls – r (23) = −0.22, p > .05. ConclusionsFatigue, and sleepiness should be assessed as distinct constructs, and each should be taken into account separately in studies of driving risk.