Research

The following is a list of the Research Projects being conducted at the Sleep Research Unit (SR), Youthdale Child and Adolescent Sleep Unit (Y), Youthdale Treatment Centre  and the International Sleep Clinic in Parry Sound (PS):

STOP BANG

Our team has participated in the development of the STOP BANG, a screening questionnaire for OSA (Obstructive Sleep Apnea).  This questionnaire has been administered to about 2500 patients at the Toronto Western and Mount Sinai hospitals.  The STOP BANG consists of only 8 questions and was found to be very sensitive in detecting moderate and severe OSA, respectively.  The STOP BANG takes only a few minutes to complete and is easy to score.  Answering 'yes' to three or more items suggests that one is at greater risk of having OSA.
The STOP BANG has been translated  into several languages  including Bengali, Arabic, Tagalog (Filipino), Cantonese, Mandarin, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, and Ukrainian.

See STOP BANG QUESTIONNAIRE in:

English ArabicBengaliCantonese   MandarinHebrewHindiGreek Tagalog Portuguese RussianSerbo-CroatianSlovakUkrainian

Child and Adolescent Sleep

• Sleep and Circadian Rhythms in children and adolescents with Visual Impairment (Y)
• Sleep and Circadian Rhythms  in children and adolescents diagnosed with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (Y)
• An observational study of the presence of sleep disorders in children and adolescents on the In-Patient Psychiatry Unit (Y)
• Frequency of obstructive sleep apnea in pediatric patients with adenotonsillar hypertrophy (Y)
• Normalization of daytime measures of sleepiness (Multiple Sleep Latency Test) in children and adolescents (Y)
• A Clinical Trial on Antidepressants in the Treatment of Children and Adolescents with Major Depression (SR, PS)

Sleep and Circadian Rhythms (SR)

• Adult ADHD and circadian rhythm disorders
• Sleep, Circadian Rhythms and Suicide in Northern-dwelling Aboriginal Adolescents
• Prevention of Circadian Rhythm Disruption by Nocturnal Light Exposure in nurses and shift workers

Investigations of Sleepiness, Fatigue or Alertness (SR)

• Validation of the 7-item Fatigue scale
• SOREMs in Sleep Disorder Patients: Association with Sleepiness and Alertness 

Mood (SR)

• Incidence of sleep disorders, fatigue, sleepiness and depression in patients about to have an anesthetic who have no prior sleep complaints.
• Cognitive Behavioral Insomnia Therapy for treatment of insomnia and depression
• Cytokines and depression 

Metabolism (SR)

• Moderate Exercise and Bright Light Treatment in Overweight Individuals: A follow up study with exploration of mechanisms.

Sleep Apnea

• Understanding and Improving Adherence to CPAP (SR)
• The Impact of fatigue and gender on blood pressure fall with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) (PS)
• Hypertension and OSA follow-up study (PS) 

Forensic Sleep Medicine (SR)

• Sleep Abnormalities in Sex Offenders