Sleep medicine
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Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is far more common in males than females. The discrepancy between the lower prevalence of OSA, the greater frequency of obesity and the smaller airway size in women compared to men suggests that a gender difference underlies this condition. We hypothesized that due to differences in tissue linkage women have more stable and less mobile upper airway structures than men, providing protection against severe forms of OSA. ⋯ Men tend to have a larger but more collapsible airway during mandibular movement than women and this, in part, may play a role in the positional dependency and severity of OSA in men.
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To determine useful cutoffs on the Sleep Apnea scale of the Sleep Disorders Questionnaire (SA-SDQ) in an epilepsy population. ⋯ The SA-SDQ is a useful screening instrument for OSA in an epilepsy population. Our results indicate that the previously suggested cutoffs for OSA (36 for men and 32 for women) may be too high for this specific population. We suggest screening cutoffs of 29 for men and 26 for women.