The relationship between sleep apnea and quality of life of the elderly in Saqez-Iran

Introduction: Sleep apnea is a sort of Airway obstruction that is resulted in fatigue and excessive daytime sleepiness and might negatively influence the quality of life. The present paper is an attempt to survey the relationship between sleep apnea and the quality of life of the elderly in Saqez-Iran. Method: The study was carried out as a cross-sectional work in 2015. Totally, 300 participants who visited Saqez City-based clinics were selected through multi-stage sampling. Data gathering was done using STOP sleep apnea screening tool and quality of life questionnaire (SF-36). Data analysis was conducted using descriptive and inferential tests in PASW. Results: The results confirmed sleep apnea in 213 subjects (71%). Mean score of quality of life of the subjects with sleep apnea was 46.53±14.75 and the elderly without sleep apnea was 56.93±16.25. In addition, mean score of physical aspect of quality of life in the former group was 44.59±20.96 and the latter group was 58.57±22.85. Clearly, the mean scores of the elderly with sleep apnea are significantly lower than the elderly without sleep apnea (p=0.0001). Conclusion: Quality of life of the elderly with sleep apnea was lower than the elderly without sleep apnea. Screening, recognition, and controlling sleep apnea in the elderly are seemed to be effective in improving quality of life of them.