Wives Key to CPAP Compliance Among Men with OSA

April 15, 2008

Men whose wives share the bed are more likely to use CPAP, according to a study published in the April 15 issue of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine (JCSM).

The study, by Rosalind Cartwright, Ph.D., of Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, focused on 10 married men with OSA, who slept for two additional nights with their wives who were not affected with OSA, while both were recorded. The first night included a standard polysomnogram (PSG), or overnight sleep study, without treatment. Following two weeks of home CPAP, the couple returned for a second PSG with the husband on CPAP. During the intervening two weeks, sleep logs were completed daily noting if CPAP was used, the presence of snoring, and where and how well they slept. Adherence data from machine downloads was obtained after an average of 4.6 months.

According to the results, the husband’s adherence to CPAP was unrelated to OSA severity, but positively related to the number of nights the couple slept together during the two weeks of home CPAP.

"The study underlines that OSA affects both partners in married couples, and those that diagnose and treat these patients should therefore see them as a unit and include the spouse (partner) in educating them about this disorder and its treatment," Cartwright said. "When the partner is encouraged to sleep with the patient, he is more likely to continue to wear his CPAP mask than if the partner sleeps separately."

In addition, Cartwright said, "Those who have separated for sleep before the patient was diagnosed and treated should realize that, if she returns to sharing the bed, the chance of his continuing to use this very successful treatment is 60 percent higher than if she sleeps alone."