Obstructive Sleep Apnoea Syndrome and work [Sindrome delle apnee ostruttive notturne ed attività lavorativa]

One third of the Italian population suffers from sleeping troubles. Obstructive Sleep Apnoea Syndrome (OSAS) represents the most common of these diseases. OSAS is characterized by many risk factors and the presence of repeated episodes of obstruction of the respiratory tract during sleeping. The aim of the study was to appraise the presence of the syndrome OSAS in a population of 21 hospitalized patients (20 males and 1 female) from 1999 to 2006. 5 male patients were hospitalized for OSAS, while in the other 16 the diagnosis has been formulated after the admission to hospital. Males were all employed in duties at risk (driving of means of transport control of various types of equipment, masons), while the woman was employed in the ironing in the textile industry. The diagnostic protocol foresaw the anamnesis for the individualization of risk factors (such as obesity, tobacco, alcoholism) and of typical symptoms (such as snoring, diurnal drowsiness, migraine, difficulty of concentration). EES and polysomnography were performed in the positive cases. A follow-up has been carried out from 1 to 6 years after the hospitalization to assess the effectiveness of the therapy and the possible consequences of the diagnosis on the work conditions.