The main objectives of the COST Action B26 are:
(i) to assess the role of OSAS as a possible cause of increased cardiovascular risk.
Collaboration among different countries will provide a critical mass of data in both
untreated and treated patients, and result in the development of guidelines on preventive
measures;
(ii) to coordinate studies on pathogenetic mechanisms of increased cardiovascular risk of
OSAS (i.e., inflammation, oxidative stress, endothelial dysfunction, metabolic
derangements, altered autonomic control associated with exposure to intermittent hypoxia).
These studies will highlight possible factors susceptible to correction by therapy.
Secondary objectives are to promote exchanges between groups in the following fields:
(i) diagnosis of OSAS and patient management: guidelines exists on diagnosis of OSAS, but
evaluation of cardiovascular risk factors is not routinely performed in OSAS patients. The
joint effort of several groups will be helpful in setting up a useful and cost-effective
European protocol to longitudinally evaluate cardiovascular risk in OSAS patients;
(ii) excessive daytime somnolence (EDS) and medico-legal implications of OSAS: Problems
still exist on the assessment of EDS in OSAS. OSAS increases the risk of car accidents, but
legislation addresses the problem in different ways throughout Europe. A European
Network will contribute in developing guidelines and promotion of their application in
European countries. In this respect, the COST Action B26 will be complementary to the
ongoing FP6 Integrated Project on sleepiness entitled: “Advanced sensor development for
attention, stress, vigilance and sleep/wakefulness monitoring” (acronym: SENSATION,
project number: 507231);
(iii) establish a common protocol to be adopted by all participating Centres for data collection at
baseline and during clinical follow-up of treated and untreated OSAS patients, in order to
cross-sectionally and prospectively assess the association between OSAS and
cardiovascular morbidity in a sufficiently large patient sample representative of the
European population.
