The Association between Symptoms of Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome and School Performance

Objective: Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) adversely affects school performance by causing learning difficulties, attention deficit, and forgetfulness. Aim of this study is to compare two student groups with different school success levels by symptoms related with OSAS. Methods: First class students from a faculty of our university with relatively higher university entrance examination scores (Group 1) and the ones from another faculty with lower scores (Group 2) were included in study. A questionnaire was applied. Demographic features, information related with smoking, driving, and previous traffic accidents were recorded. Additionally, Epworth Sleepiness Scale and Berlin Questionnaire used in OSAS screening were scored. Findings of two groups were compared. Results: 252 students were included. Group 1 and 2 consisted of 136 and 116 students, respectively. No difference was determined by age, sex, weight, and height. Significantly higher prevalence of snoring (87.1% vs.27.2%), sleep apnea (10.3% vs.5.1%), daytime sleepiness (25.8% vs.13.2%), and frequency of smoking (25.3% vs.18.2%) were determined in Group 2 than in Group 1 (p<0.001, p=0.021, p=0.002,and p<0.001,respectively). Group 2 also had higher Epworth Sleepiness Scales (5.3±3.5 vs.1.8±3.6,p=0.006) and higher prevalence of OSAS risk (45.7% vs.31.6%,p<0.001). Within Group 2, frequencies of snoring and sleep apnea were higher in smokers than in non-smokers [(97.8% vs.20%,p<0.001) and (68.9% vs.6.7%,p=0.047),respectively]. Conclusions: The prevalence of smoking and symptoms related with OSAS were found higher in students with lower school performance. Given that one of the factors affecting school success in young adults is sleep breathing disorders including OSAS, more comprehensive studies in this field are warranted. Keywords: Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, students, school performance, Epworth Sleepiness Scale, Berlin Questionnaire