Source: International Congress 2015 – Occupational and environmental cohort investigations and population studies
Disease area: Sleep and breathing disorders

Abstract

IntroductionExcessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) with and without obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) has been shown to be associated with road traffic accidents (RTAs). EDS and OSA are potential amenable risk factors where lifestyle changes and/or medical treatment offer the potential to lower the risk for future RTAs.ObjectivesTo report the proportion of individuals employed as professional driver with daytime sleepiness and significant risk for OSAS.MethodsThe Lung League of Lucerne and Zug/Switzerland invited professional drivers employed at 8 different companies to an information session about causes and effects of EDS and OSA. Following this session, the drivers completed the Epworth Sleepiness (ESQ), the Sleep Apnea scale of the Sleep Disorders Questionnaire (SA-SDQ) and a question regarding past RTAs due to sleepiness. An ESQ score of ³10, respectively a SA-SDQ score of ³36 was considered to be suggestive for EDS and high risk of OSAS.ResultsESQ and SA-SDQ were completed by 2323 drivers. EDS was found in 319 drivers (13.7%) and a high risk of OSA in 145 (6.2%). None of these individuals reported a previous diagnosis of OSA. Fifty-nine drivers (2.5%) reported past RTAs due to sleepiness while 35 drivers (1.5%) did not to answer this question. EDS and high risk of OSA was more frequent in individuals that reported past RTAs compared to those without RTAs (EDS 19/59 (32.2%) vs. 296/2229 (13.3%), p<0.001; OSA 8/59 (13.6%) vs. 134/2229 (6.0%), p=0.024) respectively).ConclusionsA significant proportion of active drivers have EDS and a high risk of OSA. These risk factors are more prevalent in individuals that reported previous RTAs due to sleepiness.


Rating:

Share or cite this content

Citations should be made in the following way:
David Miedinger (Lucerne, Switzerland), David Miedinger, Sandra Isler, Matthias Moritz, Thomas Dieterle, Joerg Leuppi. Daytime sleepiness, risk of sleep apnea and accidents in professional drivers. Eur Respir J 2015; 46: Suppl. 59, 1173

Member's Comments

No comment yet.

Related content which might interest you: Relationship between road accidents with sleep apnea and sleep quality among truck drivers in Iran Source: International Congress 2014 – Sleep disordered breathing 4 Year: 2014 Evaluation of obesity, excessive daytime sleepiness, risk of obstructive sleep apnea, history of past road traffic accident and computer-based psychotechnique driver assessment system among heavy vehicle drivers Source: International Congress 2014 – The technical and diagnostic agenda in OSA Year: 2014 Prevalence and high risk of obstructive sleep apnea among commercial drivers in Kenya Source: International Congress 2016 – Comorbid sleep apnoea in specific clinical entities and differential diagnosis of sleep disorders Year: 2016 Awareness and knowledge of obstructive sleep apnea in the general population Source: International Congress 2016 – Comorbid sleep apnoea in specific clinical entities and differential diagnosis of sleep disorders Year: 2016 Prevalence of excessive daytime sleepiness and obstructive sleep apnea risk in a large line of primary health care users Source: International Congress 2016 – Managing multimorbidity and lifestyle change in primary care Year: 2016 Sleep apnoea and driving: how can this be dealt with? Source: Eur Respir Rev 2007; 16: 189-195 Year: 2007 Daytime sleepiness and sleep disorder symptoms in female shift healthcare workers Source: Annual Congress 2010 - Sleep disorders: neurology, smoking and daytime sleepiness Year: 2010 A questionnaire survey of commercial bus drivers on sleeping habits, snoring, daytime sleepiness and sleep apnea Source: Annual Congress 2007 - Socioepidemiological and gender-related aspects of sleep apnoea Year: 2007 Obstructive sleep apnea and cardiovascular risk markers in community individuals- Results from the sleep apnea and vascular evaluation (SAVE) study Source: International Congress 2016 – Effects of hypoxia and sleep apnoea on the lung, heart, and vessels Year: 2016 Risk of obstructive sleep apnea in Indian driving licence recipients-A community based study Source: International Congress 2016 – Comorbid sleep apnoea in specific clinical entities and differential diagnosis of sleep disorders Year: 2016 Sleep apnoea is a common occurrence in females Source: Eur Respir J 2013; 41: 610-615 Year: 2013 Correlation between excessive daytime sleepiness and the risk for obstructive sleep apnea with academic performance among medical students at UP-PGH Source: Annual Congress 2011 - Obstructive sleep apnoea: clinical aspects I Year: 2011 Health impact of snoring and sleep apnoea in the community in Singapore Source: Eur Respir J 2001; 18: Suppl. 33, 439s Year: 2001 Prevalence of sleep apnoea, sleepiness and behavioural/emotional disturbances in adults with Down‘s syndrome in Scotland Source: Annual Congress 2012 - Sleep disorders in internal medicine Year: 2012 Comparing coping strategies, accident history and driving simulator (MiniUoLDS) outcome in obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS) patients and controls Source: International Congress 2014 – Sleep disordered breathing 2 Year: 2014 Sleep apnoea, anxiety, depression and somatoform pain: a community-based high-risk sample Source: Eur Respir J 2012; 40: 400-407 Year: 2012 Determining breathing or snoring episodes and apneas during sleep using acoustic signal from the neck Source: International Congress 2016 – Clinical presentation, daytime symptoms, and screening of obstructive sleep apnoea Year: 2016 Obstructive sleep apnoea in professional drivers with snoring and daytime sleepiness Source: Eur Respir J 2004; 24: Suppl. 48, 570s Year: 2004 Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome: How are we in Portugal? Source: International Congress 2015 – Measuring sleep-disordered breathing in children and adults I: questionnaires, epidemiology and sleep studies Year: 2015 Prevalence and predictors of positional sleep apnea in the general population Source: Annual Congress 2013 –Twist in the tale: treating sleep disordered breathing - new technologies, new techniques Year: 2013