Table 3.
Summary of studies examining the effects of CPAP therapy on neurocognitive functions.
| Author (year) [level of evidence] | Driving | Attention | Vigilance | Work memory | Executive function | Psychomotor function | Cognitive function | Depression/mood | Verbal fluency | Daytime sleepiness |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Findley et al. (2000) 75 [3b] | + | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | + |
| Turkington et al. (2004) 76 [2b] | + | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | + |
| Antonopoulos et al. (2011) 78 [1a] | + | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | + |
| Vakulin et al. (2011) 79 [2b] | + * * | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| Engleman et al. (1998) 80 [1b] | + | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | + |
| Henke et al. (2001) 81 [1b] | + * | NA | NA | + * | - | NA | + * | NA | NA | + * |
| Jenkinson et al. (1999) 82 [1b] | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | + | NA | NA | + |
| Jackson et al. (2018) 83 [1b] | NA | NA | NA | - | - | + | + | + | + | + |
| Phillips et al. (2013) 84 [1b] | + | + | + | + | NA | + | + | - | + | + |
| Canessa et al. (2011) 85 [1b] | NA | NA | + | + | - | + | - | + | + | + |
| Kylstra et al. (2013) 86 [1a] | NA | + | - | - | - | NA | - | + | - | + |
| Kushida et al. (2012) 87 [1b] | NA | - | - | - | + | - | - | NA | NA | + |
Notes: Symbols to indicate the sort of evidence:
+
Evidence of betterment;
-
No evidence of betterment
NA - No assessment of the cognitive domain;
*
Results statistically significant comparing treated OSA patients with no treated patients. But the improvements were not significant when compared to the sham-CPAP group.