AUTHOR=Stavrou Vasileios T. , Koutedakis Yiannis , Astara Kyriaki , Vavougios George D. , Papayianni Eirini , Stavrou Ilias T. , Bardaka Fotini , Pastaka Chaido , Gourgoulianis Konstantinos I. 

TITLE=Memory Foam Pillow as an Intervention in Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome: A Preliminary Randomized Study

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Medicine

VOLUME=Volume 9 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/medicine/articles/10.3389/fmed.2022.842224

DOI=10.3389/fmed.2022.842224

ISSN=2296-858X

ABSTRACT=Pillow use affects sleep quality by directly maintaining the cervicospinal natural curvature and assisting airway patency. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of different pillows [own pillow (OP), foam-memory pillow (MFP), generic laboratory pillow (LP)] on selected polysomnography (PSG)V-derived parameters in patients with OSAS. Thirty-two consecutive OSAS patients were randomly allocated into two groups [Group A: 3 hours with LP and 3 hours with OP (Age: 53.8±12.5 yrs, BMI: 32.1±4.6 kg/m2); Group B: 3 hours with LP and 3 hours with MFP (Age: 52.0±6.3 yrs, BMI: 30.6±2.2 kg/m2)]. Pillow placement was randomized. Statistically significant differences were detected between polysomnography (PSG) parameters such desaturation (p<0.05) between pillows and heart rate between groups (p<0.05), and between pillow types (p<0.05). A In Group B with MFP, a decrease of 47.0±15.9 % was observed in snoring events (p<0.05) and 10.6±6.7 % in their duration (p<0.05) compared to LP. Group A with OP recorded a decrease of 29.1±32.1 % in snoring events and 32.5±33.1 % in duration, but these values were not statistically significant (p>0.05), compared to LP. These findings indicate that pillow type and usage, often uncontrolled for in OSAS studies, impact several PSG parameters and are related to a snoring subtype of the syndrome. Secondly, they indicate that a focus on the treatment of the snoring OSAS subtype warrants further, dedicated investigation.