Abstract
Purpose: :
While keratoconus (KC) and sleep apnea (SA) have been associated in the literature, the frequency with which they occur together is not known. The purpose of this study was to determine how often KC patients had scores on the Sleep Apnea Sleep Disorders Questionnaire (SASDQ) that indicated high risk for SA.
Methods: :
The SASDQ was mailed or provided to 537 KC patients aged 15 to 65 and 509 soft toric and gas permeable contact lens wearers aged 18 to 65. The SASDQ is scored from 12 to 60 with high risk criterion for women of 32 and for men of 36. Surveys were scored and letters were sent to those with high risk scores. The letters reported their scores, recommended follow-up with their physician, and listed several sleep centers for further evaluation. Ninety one KC and 64 control patients returned their SASDQ. Eliminating incomplete surveys, there were 83 KC patients and 61 controls. KC patients ranged in age from 17 to 73 with a mean of 40 years. There were 47 women and 36 men. Our control group ranged in age from 19 to 63 with a mean age of 44 years. There were 45 females and 16 males. The frequency of high scores were calculated. Scores were compared with t-test and relative risk was calculated.
Results: :
Of the 14 control patients, 19.6% (12) had a high risk score. KC patients had statistically significant higher scores (p=0.01). Twenty-seven out of the 83 KC (32.5%) patients scored at the high risk level. The relative risk was 166% for the KC patients versus the controls. In addition, KC patients showed a higher frequency of extremely elevated scores of 40 or higher. Highly elevated scores occurred in 12.0% of KC patients and only 4.9% of controls. Unlike the general population, there was no significant difference between genders. For controls, men scored high 18.8% of the time and women 20% of the time. For our KC population, women scored high 31.9% of the time and men scored high 33.3% of the time.