Compliance and Efficacy of Positive Airway Pressure Therapy in Rapid Eye Movement Sleep Related Obstructive Sleep Apnea Patients

Background and Objectives The aim of this study was to investigate the compliance and treatment effects of both rapid eye movement sleep related obstructive sleep apnea (REM_ OSA) and non-stage specific OSA (NS_OSA) patients prescribed with positive airway pressure (PAP) therapy.Subjects and Method Medical records of 223 patients diagnosed with OSA from July 2021 to March 2023 were retrospectively analyzed. Six-month PAP compliance, symptoms questionnaires were compared for 60 patients in the REM_OSA group and 163 in the NS_OSA group.Results For patients in mild NS_OSA, mild REM_OSA, moderate NS_OSA, moderate REM_ OSA, severe NS_OSA, and severe REM_OSA groups, the compliance of six-month PAP was 50.0%, 33.3% (p=0.467), 69.6%, 58.3% (p>0.999), 70.7%, and 0% (p=0.023), respectively. In the NS_OSA group, PAP led to significant daytime sleepiness score improvement (7.3±3.4 to 5.7±3.6, p=0.022). In contrast, the scores for the REM_OSA group changed insignificantly (8.4±4.7 to 6.8±2.9, p=0.332).Conclusion This study revealed that PAP therapy compliance of the REM_OSA group was not lower than that of the NS_OSA group, except for the severe subgroup. However, REM_OSA was found to be less effective in improving daytime sleepiness symptoms than NS_OSA after PAP therapy.