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Cardiovascular comorbidities in obstructive sleep apnoea according to age: a sleep clinic population study

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Abstract

Purpose

To describe the features of obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) and its association with arterial hypertension (HT), coronary artery disease (CAD), and arrhythmias in elderly (≥65 years) versus younger patients.

Methods

All adult patients referred to our Sleep Research Unit for suspected OSA were included and underwent a thorough medical examination and an in-laboratory polysomnography. The severity of OSA was defined by the apnoea–hypopnoea index (AHI) as mild [5–15/h), moderate [15–30/h), and severe (≥30/h).

Results

Elderly patients (n = 136) and really old patients (>75 years) had higher prevalence of OSA (89 %) and severe OSA (36.8 %) as compared to younger patients (n = 439; 79.5 and 27.6 %, respectively, p < 0.05). In patients with OSA, the elderly group had a poorer sleep quality and more severe nocturnal oxygen desaturation than the younger group. Elderly patients presented higher percentages of HT (47.8 %), CAD (19.8 %), and arrhythmias (16.2 %) as compared to younger patients (p < 0.01). The odds ratio (OR) for HT increased with OSA severity from 1.0 to 1.65 (95 % confidence interval 0.83–3.27), 1.0 to 2.5 (95 % CI 1.25–5.00), and 1.0 to 3.77 (1.95–7.29) in younger patients, but not in elderly ones where the OR increased from 1.0 to 0.6 (0.17–2.04), 1.0 to 1.14 (0.34–3.82), and 1.0 to 1.46 (0.46–4.63), respectively.

Conclusion

Stronger relation of HT and OSA severity in younger patients should encourage us to screen OSA in these patients at very young age. Increased OSA severity without obesity in very old patients needs to be confirmed and further studied.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, Université Paris Descartes, Hôpital Cochin, Service de Physiologie-Explorations Fonctionnelles, 27 rue du Faubourg Saint-Jacques, 75014, Paris, France

    Thông Hua-Huy, Saïd Rouhani, Laurent Luchon & Anh Tuan Dinh-Xuan

  2. Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, Hôpital Pitié-Salpêtrière, Service de Soins de Suite et de Réadaptation-Neurologie, 47-83 boulevard de l’Hôpital, 75013, Paris, France

    Xuan-Yen Nguyen

  3. Service de pneumologie, CHU de Poitiers, 2, rue de la Milètrie, 86000, Poitiers, France

    Jean-Claude Meurice

Authors
  1. Thông Hua-Huy
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  2. Saïd Rouhani
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  3. Xuan-Yen Nguyen
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Correspondence to Anh Tuan Dinh-Xuan.

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Hua-Huy, T., Rouhani, S., Nguyen, XY. et al. Cardiovascular comorbidities in obstructive sleep apnoea according to age: a sleep clinic population study. Aging Clin Exp Res 27, 611–619 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40520-015-0318-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40520-015-0318-3

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