Common sleep apnea treatment improves quality of life

Positive airway pressure (PAP) is a mode of respiratory ventilation widely used in the treatment of sleep apnea. A PAP therapy mask delivers air to keep a patient’s throat open. Researchers recently found consistent improvement in the general and sleep-specific quality of life of patients with sleep-disordered breathing after PAP therapy. In particular, older patients and those in a higher socioeconomic subgroup showed more improvement in quality of life measures. This information will guide clinicians in terms of expected quality of life outcomes with sleep-disordered breathing treatment. The study, published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, was partly funded by NHLBI.