Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42262660›Full record

ArticleSleep & breathing = Schlaf & Atmung2026

The impact of short-term ambient air pollution on CPAP therapy outcomes in obstructive sleep apnea.

Aliki Karkala, Alexandros Kalkanis, Hanne Vangelder, Maarten Van Den Bossche, Bertien Buyse, Tim Nawrot, Dries Testelmans

Abstract read
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Sleep & breathing = Schlaf & Atmung, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Aliki KarkalaDepartment of Pulmonology, Leuven University Center for Sleep and Wake Disorders (LUCS), University Hospitals Leuven Campus Gasthuisberg, Herestraat 49, Leuven, 3000, Belgium.
Alexandros KalkanisDepartment of Pulmonology, Leuven University Center for Sleep and Wake Disorders (LUCS), University Hospitals Leuven Campus Gasthuisberg, Herestraat 49, Leuven, 3000, Belgium.
Hanne VangelderDepartment of Pulmonology, Leuven University Center for Sleep and Wake Disorders (LUCS), University Hospitals Leuven Campus Gasthuisberg, Herestraat 49, Leuven, 3000, Belgium.
Maarten Van Den BosscheDepartment of Psychiatry, Maastricht University Medical Centre+, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Bertien BuyseDepartment of Pulmonology, Leuven University Center for Sleep and Wake Disorders (LUCS), University Hospitals Leuven Campus Gasthuisberg, Herestraat 49, Leuven, 3000, Belgium.
Tim NawrotCentre for Environmental Sciences, Hasselt University Campus Diepenbeek, Agoralaan gebouw D, 3590, Diepenbeek, Limburg, Belgium.
Dries TestelmansDepartment of Pulmonology, Leuven University Center for Sleep and Wake Disorders (LUCS), University Hospitals Leuven Campus Gasthuisberg, Herestraat 49, Leuven, 3000, Belgium. dries.testelmans@uzleuven.be.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7303-9799

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeTo determine whether short-term exposure to ambient air pollution adversely impacts the effectiveness of CPAP therapy in patients with diagnosed Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA).

methodsIn a retrospective cohort study of 185 patients with diagnosed OSA using CPAP therapy, we analyzed the associations between daily levels of Particulate Matter (PM

resultsStatistically significant inverse associations were observed between air pollution and nightly CPAP usage (e.g., a 0.5 µg/m³ increase in BC was associated with a reduction of 4.6 min per night). Effects were cumulative across several days, with no significant impact on single-day exposures. No clinically meaningful associations were observed for residual AHI or mask leakage. Subgroup analyses suggested slightly stronger reductions in women and high-adherence users, but these effects remained small.

conclusionShort-term exposure to ambient air pollution is associated with minor reductions in CPAP usage; however, the effect size is small and unlikely to be clinically significant in a low-pollution settings. CPAP effectiveness, as measured by residual AHI and mask performance, appears unaffected. These findings suggest that CPAP therapy remains robust despite typical variations in environmental air quality, and the clinical relevance of pollution-driven adherence changes is limited.

Indexed as

Air PollutionContinuous Positive Airway PressureSleep Apnea, ObstructiveAdultAgedCohort StudiesFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedParticulate MatterPatient ComplianceRetrospective StudiesTreatment OutcomeParticulate MatterAir aualityBlack carbonCPAP adherenceObstructive sleep apneaParticulate matterPollution

Identifiers

PMID42262660

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.