Research finds that using CPAP for sleep apnoea does not negatively affect sex life

A study has looked into the impacts of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment on the sex lives of people with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA).

The research, which will be presented at the CHEST 2014 meeting in Texas, US, involved 52 people with OSA who were undergoing CPAP therapy. Of these, 27 were ‘compliant’ with their CPAP programme, which meant they were using it for at least four hours per night at least 70% of the time. The other 25 were deemed as non-compliant.

Both groups were similar in terms of age, weight and other factors that can affect sexual quality of life, including whether they had depression or used medication to treat erectile dysfunction.

All participants were asked to fill in a survey that asked questions about the physical and emotional aspects of their sex lives. The researchers then compared the responses from those who were compliant with CPAP and those who weren’t. They found that regularly using CPAP therapy does not have an effect on sexual quality of life.

This finding is interesting, as people with OSA who use CPAP often have concerns that the therapy may have a negative impact on their sex life, which can affect whether they adhere to the treatment.

Read the original news story.

Browse the abstracts from the CHEST 2014 annual meeting.