| Abstract |
Introduction: The main symptom of Sleep Apnea Syndrome (SAS) is excessive daytime sleepiness, which also serves as a diagnostic tool. In addition, an associated feature of these patients is habitual snoring. One important effect of the syndrome is an increased incidence of traffic accidents due to daytime sleepiness. As such, the cost and the consequences of untreated SAS could be significant. Studies have shown a high prevalence of sleep-related breathing disturbances in professional drivers in other countries. However, sleep apnea is poorly understood in Greece due to a lack of extensive epidemiological studies. The central aim of this study was to investigate and compare the profile of the professional drivers of Heraklion (Crete, Greece) to that of a typical patient suffering from SAS, in order to assess whether they present symptomatology of SAS. Methodology: The cross-sectional study comprised 132 vehicle drivers from all professional categories in the town of Heraklion. The questionnaire, which was pilot tested on 30 subjects at the Laboratory of Sleep, University of Crete, examined: a) body indices, b) health condition of subjects and c) potential symptomatology of SAS during sleep or wakefulness. Sleepiness was measured using the Epworth Sleepiness Scale. Results: The prevalence of over-weight and obese professional drivers was very high and 76.5% of them were smokers. Every-night snoring was found in 22% of the participants, whereas 27% reported occasional snoring. There was a correlation between habitual snoring and body indices and other variables. In total, 13.6% of the subjects had increased daytime sleepiness that was strongly associated with body indices and symptomatology during sleep. Conclusions: The combination of a high prevalence of obesity, smoking and snoring, in men, in relation to the increased percentage of daytime sleepiness demonstrates that the population of professional drivers of the town of Heraklion is at risk regarding the Sleep Apnea Syndrome. Our findings suggest that further studies, in conjunction with other clinical data, are needed in order to estimate the prevalence of sleep-disordered breathing and the diagnosis of SAS.
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Διαταραχές αναπνοής κατά τον ύπνο σε επαγγελματίες οδηγούς της πόλης του Ηρακλείου
