Abstract
Introduction: It is well known that there are differences of obstructive sleep apnoea/hypopnoea syndrome (OSAHS) regarding the gender in the elderly. The aim of this study was to evaluate the possible differences of OSAHS between middle-aged patients.
Methods: Three hundred and sixty five subjects, aged 45 until 65 years, suspected OSAHS were examined by full polysomnography, in our Sleep Laboratory the last years. Two hundred and ninety of them were suffered from OSAHS, 232 men, aged 53.75±5.72 and 58 women, aged 54.73±4.34 (m±SD). The evaluated parameters were the daytime sleepiness (scoring by Epworth sleepiness scale), the apnoea/hypopnoea index (AHI) and the duration of nocturnal hypoxemia. The statistical analysis was done by “t-test” method.
Results: There were statistically significant differences between men and women regarding the body mass index (BMI) (34.08±6.74 vs 37.71±11.38 respectively, p=0.002), the daytime sleepiness (ESS) (12.01±5.06 vs 10.05±5.43, respectively, p=0.01), and the apnoea-hypopnoea index (AHI) (39.07±24.40 vs 31.28±26.42, respectively, p=0.03). There is no difference about the duration of nocturnal hypoxemia between the two groups.
Conclusion: It seems that the prevalence of OSAHS is much higher in middle-aged men. Compared with men, middle-aged women although had greater BMI, had less severity of OSAHS and smaller daytime sleepiness. These findings may reflect structural and functional differences between the sexes in upper airways during sleep.
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