Citation

Sawatari H, Kumagai H, Kawaguchi K, Kiyohara Y, Konishi N, Arita A, Hayashi M, Shiomi T. Sci. Rep. 2024; 14(1): e6378.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2024, Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1038/s41598-024-57021-1

PMID

38493230

Abstract

Sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) is prevalent among professional drivers. Although SDB is a known risk factor for truck collisions attributed to microsleep-related behaviors at the wheel (TC-MRBs), the usefulness of overnight pulse oximetry for predicting TC-MRBs is debatable. This retrospective study assessed the association between overnight pulse oximetry parameters, the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), and TC-MRBs, confirmed by dashcam footage. This study included 108 matched professional truck drivers (TC-MRBs: N = 54; non-TC-MRBs: N = 54), with a mean age and body mass index of 41.9 ± 11.3 years and 23.0 ± 3.7 kg/m(2), respectively. Night-time drivers, 4% oxygen desaturation index (ODI), and nadir oxygen saturation (SpO(2)) were associated with TC-MRBs (odds ratio [95% confidence interval]: 25.63 [5.88-111.77], p < 0.0001; 2.74 [1.02-7.33], p = 0.045; and 3.87 [1.04-14.39], p = 0.04, respectively). The area under the curve of 4% ODI and nadir SpO(2) for TC-MRBs were 0.50 and 0.57, respectively. In conclusion, night-time driving, 4% ODI, and nadir SpO(2) were significantly associated with TC-MRBs in professional truck drivers. However, the sensitivity of overnight pulse oximetry parameters to predict TC-MRBs in a real-world application was poor. Therefore, combining subjective and objective assessments such as dashcam video footage may be needed to achieve high accuracy for predicting TC-MRBs among professional truck drivers.

Language: en

Keywords

*Sleep Apnea Syndromes/etiology; *Truck Drivers; Humans; Motor Vehicles; Oximetry; Oxygen; Retrospective Studies; Risk Factors