Perception of the bed partner and the individual suffering from SNORING/OSAS before and after speech therapy

Purposes the purpose of this study was to evaluate the perception of bed partners, auto-evaluate individuals with snoring/obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, collect cervical and abdominal circumferences before and after speech therapy, and conduct a myofunctional evaluation to associate the results with the severity of sleep disorder. Methods eleven patients between ages 25 and 75 years, of both genders presenting a recent polysomnographic diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome of mild to severe and/or primary snoring were selected as subjects. All patients were subjected to speech therapy, myofunctional clinical assessment, and Berlin (adapted) and Epworth questionnaires before and after therapy. Results the data obtained were statistically analyzed with the Wilcoxon test (α = 0.05). Two individuals did not adhere to the treatment. No significant difference was observed between the initial and the final cervical and abdominal circumferences (cervical p = 0.069 / abdominal p = 0.789). All the patients improved their suprahyoid muscles tonus, lowering of the back of tongue, soft palate, bilateral chewing, speech, and nasal breathing. The results of the Berlin questionnaire showed a reduction in the perception of the bed partner in snoring intensity (p = 0.005) more so than frequency (p = 0.05). Significant reductions of the excessive diurnal somnolence were observed in all the patients (p = 0.000). Conclusions considering the limitations of this study, it could be concluded that after speech therapy the perceptions of the patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome/snoring and their bed partners was that their sleep and life quality was improved, there was a reduction of snoring intensity, and an improved in their daily activities due to the excessive diurnal somnolence reduction.

研究目的：本研究旨在评估打鼾/阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停综合征（obstructive sleep apnea syndrome）患者的自评情况，以及其床伴对患者睡眠相关状况的感知，收集言语治疗前后的颈围与腹围数据，并开展肌功能评估，以将各项评估结果与睡眠障碍的严重程度进行关联分析。方法：本研究纳入年龄介于25至75岁之间、经近期多导睡眠图（polysomnographic）确诊为轻至重度阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停综合征及/或原发性打鼾的男女患者共11例作为研究对象。所有受试者均接受言语治疗，并在治疗前后完成肌功能临床评估，以及改良版柏林问卷（Berlin）与爱普沃斯嗜睡量表（Epworth）的填写。结果：本研究所得数据采用Wilcoxon检验进行统计学分析（检验水准α=0.05）。共有2例患者未依从治疗方案。治疗前后的颈围与腹围未观察到显著统计学差异（颈围p=0.069，腹围p=0.789）。所有患者的舌骨上肌群肌张力、舌后下降程度、软腭状态、双侧咀嚼功能、言语功能及鼻腔呼吸功能均得到改善。柏林问卷结果显示，床伴对患者打鼾强度的感知评分降低更为显著（p=0.005），其改善效果优于对打鼾频率的改善（p=0.05）。所有患者的日间过度嗜睡症状均得到显著缓解（p=0.000）。结论：考虑到本研究存在的局限性，可得出以下结论：经言语治疗后，阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停综合征/打鼾患者及其床伴均认为其睡眠质量与生活质量得到提升，打鼾强度有所降低，且由于日间过度嗜睡症状得到缓解，患者的日常活动能力也得到改善。