- Major Women’s Health Study Supports Hormone Replacement Therapy in Early Menopause
- Organic Walnuts Tied to Serious E. Coli Illnesses
- More Than Half of Cats on Farm Where Bird Flu Infected Cows Died After Drinking Milk
- Biden Administration Could Reclassify Marijuana as Less Risky Drug
- Americans of Pacific Island Ethnicity Have Up to Triple the Rate of Cancer Deaths
- How Anger Could Raise Your Heart Risks
- EPA Clamps Down on Deadly Toxin Found in Paint Strippers
- Popular Teens (Especially Girls) May Get Less Sleep
- Years Prior to Menopause Are Danger Zone for Depression
- School Entry Rules Boost Kids’ HPV Vaccination Rates
CPAP Mask Success May Depend on Family Support, Study Finds
People struggling with sleep apnea who turn to the CPAP mask for help may do better if they get support from partners and family members, a new study shows.
“Having healthy relationships with family members can create an environment that supports the patient’s use of CPAP,” study lead author Faith Luyster, a research assistant professor in the School of Nursing at the University of Pittsburgh, said in an American Academy of Sleep Medicine news release.
Millions of Americans experience the snoring and interrupted nighttime breathing of sleep apnea. Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy helps keep a person’s airway open by providing a stream of air through a mask that is worn during sleep. Many patients find the mask uncomfortable, however, affecting treatment adherence rates.
In the new study, Luyster’s team tracked 253 patients with obstructive sleep apnea who were prescribed CPAP therapy. These individuals were monitored for three months to determine if they used the mask device nightly.
People who were married or living with a partner were more likely to use CPAP regularly than those who were single, the team found. Patients with better family relationships also had better CPAP adherence than those with poor family relationships.
“This is the first study to explore the role of family factors in CPAP adherence,” Luyster said.
Based on the results, she believes that interventions that involve the patient’s family in sticking with the CPAP device “may help patients who would benefit from family support during the initial treatment period.”
The study was published online recently in the journal Sleep and was also scheduled for presentation at this week’s annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies in Minneapolis.
More information
The U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute has more about CPAP.
Source: HealthDay
Copyright © 2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved.