Daytime Sleepiness among Healthy Adults in South West Nigeria

Aims: Obstruction of the upper airway during overnight sleep is associated with non-refreshing sleep and daytime sleepiness. This may be an antecedent to accidents, declining quality of life, poor concentration, as well as poor academic and work performance. This study determined the prevalence and risk factors for daytime sleepiness among healthy adults in a rural community of South-west Nigeria.

Study Design: A prospective, cross sectional community based study.

Place and Duration of Study: Oyo town, Nigeria between August 2012 and June 2013.

Methodology: Households and adults in the community were selected by multistage random sampling technique. Data on demographics, snoring, and subjective sleepiness (using Epworth Sleeping Scale) were obtained. Mallampati score, tonsillar grade and body mass index of each participant was determined. Statistical analysis was done and level of significance was p < 0.05.

Results: There were 408 participants consisting 202 (49.5%) males and 206 (50.5%) females, age ranged from 18 to 82 years with mean of 37 years ±15.2. Only 191 (46.8%) participants snored while daytime sleepiness was observed in 113 (27.70%) participants. Forty two (10.30%) participants had enlarged tonsils. Only 165 (40.4%) participants had high Mallampati score. Mean Body Mass Index for male was 23.79 kg/m2 ±3.93 and female was 24.86 kg/m2 ±4.90. Daytime sleepiness was significantly associated with increased age (p = 0.0018), female gender (p = 0.048), enlarged tonsils (p < 0.013), snoring (p < 0.001), high Mallampati score (p < 0.001) and high body mass index (p = 0.014), but no association with overnight sleeping duration (p = 0.138).

Conclusion: There prevalence of excessive day time sleepiness is high among the adults in Oyo community, Nigeria and factors associated with narrowed upper airway predispose to daytime sleepiness. Therefore, there is a need for public awareness on its implication on health, productivity and safety.