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Polysomnographic features of low arousal threshold in overlap syndrome involving obstructive sleep apnea and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

  • Sleep Breathing Physiology and Disorders • Original Article
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Abstract

Purpose

In patients with overlap syndrome (OVS), the pathophysiologies of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease can interact with one another. Focusing on low arousal threshold, the authors evaluated polysomnographic features of OVS patients.

Methods

This retrospective, multicenter study was conducted at three hospitals in Japan. Patients aged ≥ 60 years who underwent polysomnography and pulmonary function testing were reviewed. Severity of airflow limitation (AFL) was classified according to the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease criteria. Low arousal threshold was predicted based on the following polysomnography features: lower apnea-hypopnea index (AHI); higher nadir oxygen saturation, and larger hypopnea fraction of total respiratory events. These features were compared among patients with only OSA (n = 126), OVS with mild AFL (n = 16), and OVS with moderate/severe AFL (n = 22).

Results

A low arousal threshold was more frequently exhibited by OVS patients with moderate/severe AFL than by those with OSA only (p = 0.016) and OVS with mild AFL (p = 0.026). As forced expiratory volume in 1 s/forced vital capacity (FEV1/FVC) decreased in OVS patients, the mean length of apnea decreased (r = 0.388, p = 0.016), hypopnea fractions increased (r = − 0.337, p = 0.039), and AHI decreased (r = 0.424, p = 0.008). FEV1/FVC contributed to low arousal threshold independent of age, sex, smoking history, hospital, or body mass index in all subjects (OR 0.946 [95% CI 0.909–0.984]) and in OVS patients (OR 0.799 [95% CI 0.679–0.940]).

Conclusions

This study first described peculiar polysomnographic features in OVS patients with moderate/severe AFL, suggesting a high prevalence of low arousal threshold.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Dr. Takeo Ishii from GlaxoSmithKline for helpful discussion while he was a member of the Respiratory Care clinic.

Funding

The present study was supported by GOLD-Jac.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geriatric Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8655, Japan

    Yasuhiro Yamaguchi, Hironobu Hamaya, Masaki Ishii & Masahiro Akishita

  2. Department of Respiratory Medicine, Juntendo University Faculty of Medicine and Graduate School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan

    Satomi Shiota, Yuzo Kodama, Kazuhisa Takahashi & Yoshinosuke Fukuchi

  3. Respiratory Care Clinic, Department of Respiratory Medicine, Nippon Medical School, Tokyo, Japan

    Yuji Kusunoki & Kozui Kida

  4. Department of Respiratory Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

    Takahide Nagase

Authors
  1. Yasuhiro Yamaguchi
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  2. Satomi Shiota
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  3. Yuji Kusunoki
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  4. Hironobu Hamaya
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  9. Kazuhisa Takahashi
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  11. Yoshinosuke Fukuchi
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yasuhiro Yamaguchi.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Given the retrospective nature of the study and the use of anonymized patient data, formal consent is not required.

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Yamaguchi, Y., Shiota, S., Kusunoki, Y. et al. Polysomnographic features of low arousal threshold in overlap syndrome involving obstructive sleep apnea and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Sleep Breath 23, 1095–1100 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11325-019-01786-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11325-019-01786-7

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