P061 The effect of anxiety on symptom burden in patients with obstructive sleep apnoea

BACKGROUND: There is a high prevalence of anxiety in patients with obstructive sleep apnoea and such patients often describe fatigue in addition to sleepiness. We currently use the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) to quantify sleepiness in our patients, but we do not have useful tools for assessing fatigue. Fatigue is a common symptom in patients with many medical conditions but has not been well studied in patients presenting to sleep services. Our hypothesis is that patients with obstructive sleep apnoea who have a comorbid anxiety disorder, as measured by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) are likely to have increased symptom burden such as fatigue or poorer functional outcomes of sleep. METHODS: Analysis of prospectively collected data from 128 adult patients referred for suspected obstructive sleep apnea to Monash University Health Sleep Clinic. All patients have completed a comprehensive questionnaire prior to their first clinical review assessing their symptom burden at baseline. Questionnaires completed include extensive symptom and medical history assessment, the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS), ESS, HADS, Functional Outcomes of Sleep Questionnaire (FOSQ), Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) and Global Fatigue Score. All patients were subsequently reviewed by a clinician and have overnight polysomnography data available. Progress to date; Data collected for all 128 participants. Preliminary analysis currently underway. Intended outcome & impact; We intend to examine whether the comorbidity of anxiety results in an increased or different symptom burden in patients referred for suspected obstructive sleep apnoea when compared to patients without a history of anxiety.