Sleep disordered breathing in chronic stroke survivors. A study of the long term follow-up of the SCOPES cohort using home based polysomnography.

Prevalence of sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) (apnea-hypopnea index [AHI] > or = 5) in acute stroke patients ranges between 44% and 95%, compared to the community prevalence, 9 to 35% for women and 8 to 57% for men [age range 30-60 years]. Limited data exists beyond 3 months following stroke. We assessed the prevalence of SDB amongst stroke survivors at 3 years and compared results to data reported in normal and elderly populations. 90/143 eligible stroke survivors from an existing cohort underwent a home based sleep study. Mean age of the 78 subjects with a valid sleep study was 64 years (SD 15). Prevalence of SDB (AHI > or = 5) was 81% (95% CI 72% to 90%) and sleep apnoea syndrome (AHI > or = 5 plus ESS score > or =11) was 20% (95% CI 11% to 29%). Important predictors for AHI > or = 15 were haemorrhagic stroke (aOR12.06 [1.42-102.74]) and stroke severity at 1 month (aOR4.15 [1.05-16.38]). Large case-control studies are needed.