Sleep Apnea and Driving. Recommendations for Interpreting Spanish Regulations for Drivers.

Road traffic accidents are one of the main causes of death worldwide and are clearly associated with sleepiness. Individuals with undiagnosed sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (SAHS) are among the population with a high risk of experiencing sleepiness at the wheel and, consequently, road traffic accidents. Treatment with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) has been shown to reduce the risk of accidents among drivers with SAHS.

Continuous positive airway pressure as treatment for systemic hypertension in people with obstructive sleep apnoea: randomised controlled trial.

Objective: To assess the effect of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) on 24 hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring values in a large number of patients with untreated systemic hypertension of new onset and obstructive sleep apnoea.

Design: Multicentre, double blind, randomised, placebo controlled trial.

Setting: Eleven general hospitals in Spain between 2004 and 2007.

[Sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome in the elderly].

The population pyramid is changing due to the increasing longevity of the population, making it a priority to have better knowledge of those diseases that have an increasingly major impact in advanced age. Sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (SAHS) affects 15-20% of individuals over 65 years. However, despite this high prevalence and that one in four sleep studies are conducted on the elderly in this country and that more 60% of these were treated with CPAP, there are few specific studies in this age group on the diagnosis and management of this syndrome.