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Occupational health of patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome: a systematic review

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Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this systematic literature review was to assess the impact of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) on patients’ occupational health.

Methods

We selected 19 studies that dealt with issues related to job performance and productivity, absenteeism, and psychosocial health of patients with OSAS and assessed the risk of bias in their conclusions.

Results

Although methodologically rigorous studies are needed to confirm these findings, the results obtained suggest the existence of multiple relationships between OSAS and work limitations of patients (i.e., difficulties maintaining attention, learning new tasks, or performing monotonous tasks). The studies reviewed reached more scientifically consistent conclusions about such patients’ risk of taking more days of sick leave or having work disability, particularly if they reported excessive daytime sleepiness. Very few studies have explored the relationship between OSAS and psychosocial occupational health of patients. Thus, there is a need for research to clarify these aspects of occupational medicine.

Conclusions

OSAS has numerous effects on patients’ occupational health, yet, in general, results should be confirmed by studies with sufficiently large samples in which OSAS is diagnosed with reliable methods and occupational variables are assessed with standardized and validated questionnaires.

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Acknowledgments

This study was made possible thanks to a grant for the training of teaching and research staff provided by the Regional Government of the region of Andalucia, Spain, to the Department of Personality, Evaluation and Psychological Treatment, Faculty of Psychology, University of Granada, Spain.

Ethical standards

The manuscript does not contain clinical studies or data on patients.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they are no conflict of interest.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sleep Unit, Mind, Brain and Behaviour Research Center (CIMCYC), Granada, Spain

    Ottavia Guglielmi & Gualberto Buela-Casal

  2. Sleep Unit, Department of Respiratory Medicine, Reina Sofia University Hospital, Instituto Maimónides de Investigación Biomédica de Cordoba (IMIBIC), Avenida de Menéndez Pidal s /n, 14004, Cordoba, Spain

    Bernabé Jurado-Gámez

  3. Clinical Epidemiology Unit, Hospital Clínico Universitario de Santiago, Travesía da Choupana, 15706, Santiago de Compostela, Spain

    Francisco Gude

Authors
  1. Ottavia Guglielmi
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  2. Bernabé Jurado-Gámez
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  3. Francisco Gude
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  4. Gualberto Buela-Casal
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ottavia Guglielmi.

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Guglielmi, O., Jurado-Gámez, B., Gude, F. et al. Occupational health of patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome: a systematic review. Sleep Breath 19, 35–44 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11325-014-1015-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11325-014-1015-8

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