• Glenda Ernst, Melina Sabán, Miguel Schiavone, Magalí Blanco, Alejandro Salvado, and Eduardo Borsini.
• Centro de Medicina Respiratoria, Hospital Británico, Buenos Aires, Argentina. E-mail: GErnst@hbritanico.com.ar.
• Medicina (B Aires). 2020 Jan 1; 80 (5): 479-486.

AbstractObstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a prevalent condition. OSA is defined as very severe when the apneas/ hypopneas index (AHI) is greater than 60 events/hour. However, its prevalence remains uncertain. The aim of this study was to describe the prevalence and characteristics from patients with OSA according to severity. We performed a retrospective analysis of patients > 18 years, assessed by respiratory polygraph. We evaluated a total of 5670 patients with a mean of age of 54.4 ± 14.3 years old, of which 3606 were included in the OSA group. The overall prevalence of very severe OSA was 4.8%, being higher in men than in women (6.8 vs 1.9%). This group of patients was younger than the less severe groups (54.7 ± 13.9: mild OSA; 56.5 ± 12.9: moderate OSA; 57.9 ± 13.0: severe OSA vs 51.5 ± 12.9 years in the very severe patients; p < 0.0001). The results showed a significant increase in the body mass index (BMI) of patients with very severe OSA (31.6 ± 6.9: mild OSA, 32.8 ± 6.6: moderate OSA, 34.0 ± 6.8 severe OSA vs 37.1 ± 8.5 extreme severity; p < 0.0001), with similar results in men, but not in women. Finally, drowsiness due to ESS > 10, showed a significant increase in the very severe group of both sexes; 43.2% vs 31.5% (severe OSA); 26.4% (moderate OSA) and 23.8% (mild OSA). Very severe OSA presented a prevalence of 4.8% of patients with OSA. According to previous publications in other studied populations, we found that patients with very severe OSA are younger and more obese than the less severe groups.

15 keywords...

hide…