This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.

Lifestyle modifications reduce OSA, daytime sleepiness

A dietitian-led lifestyle modification program for patients with obstructive sleep apnea effectively reduced their severity and daytime sleepiness, according to study results.

“This study has shown that a (lifestyle modification program [LMP]) was an effective treatment modality in the majority of patients with moderate to severe (obstructive sleep apnea [OSA]), and the achieved outcome was well maintained over a 1-year period with a 16.9% reduction in (apnea hypopnea index [AHI]) in the intervention group,” the researchers wrote.

Investigators in China conducted a controlled, parallel group trial of 104 patients with moderate to severe OSA and randomly assigned them to either a dietitian-led-LMP or simple lifestyle advice for 12 months. The primary endpoint was to assess reduction of AHI at 12 months.

In intention-to-treat analysis, LMP (n = 61) more effectively reduced AHI than lifestyle advice in controls (16.9% fewer events vs. 0.6% more events; P =.011), while daytime sleepiness, assessed by the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), showed no significant difference between groups.

Differences were observed for BMI, AHI, and ESS in the treatment-per-protocol analysis for all patients who completed the study. The OSA severity among the LMP group participants (n = 44) improved, with AHI decreasing from 42.5 per hour to 32 per hour (P < .001). This was greater than AHI reduction in controls (n = 37) at 12 months (P = .01). Also at the end of the study, the change in ESS was more robust in the intervention group (–3.5 vs. –1.1; P = .004).

The researchers wrote that the study was limited because OSA diagnosis was based on a portable home sleep study assessment reported by participants.

“The gold standard for diagnosing OSA has been based on in-laboratory polysomnography, however, it is expensive and technically demanding,” the researchers wrote.

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.