Abstract
Background: Sleep apnea is the medical condition related to sleep of the individual. It is considered as one of the serious disorder where the person's breathing is interrupted during sleep. According to numerous studies it is seen that prevalence of sleep apnea is more among medical students as compared to other students. This study has aimed to know about factors of sleep apnea on the basis of the occurrence of snoring and sleep disturbance among the medical student of various colleges under Majmaah University.
Material and method: It is a cross-sectional study conducted among 298 students aged 18-25 years studying in various colleges under Majmaah University. The sample was randomly selected using Simple random sampling method. Data collection was done using questionnaire based on Epworth-sleepiness scale and analyzed using SPSS version 18. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used to obtain the required results.
Results: In this study the mean age of the students was 21.9, while the mean height and weight of the student were 165.25 cm and 64.74 kg, respectively. The prevalence of snoring among the respondents was 14%. There is significant association between the sex of the respondent and forgetfulness in the daytime (P=0.027) reportedly more in female compared to male. Disorientation of time, place and time person (p=0.028) was statistically significant with the age group. Almost half (43.3%) of the 18-20 reported feeling disoriented, while only 4.3% of age 23 and more reported disorientation. Similarly, a significant association was seen between the respondent's frustration during routine activities and their age group (p=0.008), where 70% of the students of age group 18-20 reported feeling frustrated during routine activities.
Conclusion: This study concludes that there is prevalence of sleep apnea among the medical student where snoring is one of the major issue in which due to the sleep disorder individual are usually frustrated and disoriented. Maintaining healthy lifestyle could be the solution but if condition worsens seeking medical help is must.