Study finds high rate of sleep apnea among people with spinal cord injury

A study in the January issue of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine found that 77 percent of spinal cord injury patients had symptomatic sleep-disordered breathing, and 92 percent had poor sleep quality. The study also found that the nature of sleep-disordered breathing in patients with spinal cord injury is complex, with a high occurrence of both obstructive and central sleep apnea events. The authors concluded that all spinal cord injury patients should undergo careful assessment for sleep apnea with full polysomnography studies.