Multiple sleep latency test (MSLT) and sleep apnea in aged women.

Sleep disturbance and the tendency to sleep during the day were assessed polysomnographically in 31 elderly women (mean age = 76.7 +/- 3.6 SD) recruited from a senior citizen's living facility without reference to sleep-wake complaints. The data showed that the level of sleepiness during the day in each subject depended in part on the severity of her respiratory disturbance. It was found that the group (n = 7) of elderly females with apnea and hypopnea index (AHI) higher than 20 was more sleepy [multiple sleep latency test (MSLT) = 7.9 +/- 2) than the group (n = 10) with AHI > 5 but less than 20 (MSLT = 12.7 +/- 5). Nevertheless, the presence and severity of respiratory disturbance were not the only factors that influenced the level of sleepiness during the day in the studied sample. A subgroup of four elderly females showed a marked sleepiness during the four tested periods (MSLT = 5.2 +/- 0.6) with a very low respiratory disturbance index (AHI = 5.5 +/- 0.8).