Assessment of biological rhythm disturbances and emotion recognition in individuals with or without obstructive sleep apnea syndrome: The role of eating patterns

ABSTRACT Although a vast amount of research efforts including a plethora of distinct methodologies have been put forth, the pathophysiology of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) has not been compromised and multidimensional aspects of biological rhythm disruptions has not been evaluated yet. Twenty individuals with severe OSAS and 20 individuals without OSAS were administered. The Biological Rhythm Interview of Assessment In Neuropsychiatry and the Emotion Recognition Task to evaluate biological rhythm disruptions multidimensionally and emotion recognition abilities dynamically for the first time in OSAS. More disrupted eating patterns (p = 0.03), diminished durations of non-REM 1 and 3 sleep stages, and preserved emotion recognition abilities were found in severe OSAS, thus emphasizing the role of eating patterns in OSAS. Allowing for the multifactorial nature of biological rhythm disruptions and emotion recognition abilities, the content and the course and the interplay between them should be pegged away before arriving at firm judgments.