Background: In light of previous reported associations between sleep disordered breathing (SDB) and symptoms of attention deficits, the aim of this systematic review (SR) was to evaluate this association in adults.
Methods: Searches were performed on seven main databases including Embase, PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, PsyncInfo, Livivo and Lilacs; as well as grey literature through Google Scholar, Proquest and OpenGrey. Furthermore, hand-searches were conducted on the reference lists of included articles. Experts were consulted to improve search findings. Risk of Bias was gauged using the Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Checklist. The cumulative evidence was evaluated using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) criteria.
Results: 2009 references were identified. After phase-1 and phase-2 of screening against eligibility criteria, eight cross-sectional and one cohort studies were retained for qualitative analysis. Five studies were included for quantitative analysis, with no significant association found (p = 0.99). From the qualitative assessment, three papers showed a positive association with at least one attention symptoms. Risk of bias was judged to be low for six studies and three were classified with moderate risk of bias. Confidence in cumulative evidence was considered very low for continuous data.
Conclusion: Despite the plausibility of an association between SDB and symptoms of attention deficits in adults, current published evidence does not either confirm or refute such association as inferred from its low to very low certainty level.
Keywords: Attention deficits; Obstructive sleep apnea; Primary snoring; Sleep disordered breathing; Systematic review.
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