Abstract
Purpose
An elevated prevalence of sleep apnoea (SA) in patients with acromegaly has been suggested.
Methods
We performed polysomnographies in 52 patients with acromegaly (25 m, 27 f, age 51 years, range 19-82 years). Patients were defined having SA if they had more than five apnoeas or hypopnoeas per hour (respiratory disturbance index = RDI). The type of SA was divided into obstructive (OSA), central (CSA) or mixed (OSA+CSA). Seventeen patients had newly diagnosed disease, and 18 patients were treated with somatostatin analogues.
Results
Twenty-three patients had controlled disease activity (mean GH levels <1 μg/l during a 3-h profile and normalised IGF-1 levels). Twelve had active acromegaly despite medical treatment. Thirty patients (58%) had SA. Twenty-five of those had OSA, three had CSA, and two had mixed. Of the patients with active disease, 66% had SA, compared to 48% in the cured group. Significantly more patients with hypertension (n = 18) than without hypertension (n = 12, p = 0.041) had SA. Basal glucose was not significantly different between patients with (100 mg/dl, range 75–207 mg/dl) and without SA (92 mg/dl, range 74–120 mg/dl), but HbA1c was significantly higher in patients with SA (5.9% (4.9–9.0%) vs. 5.4% (4.3–6.1%), p = 0.001). A positive correlation between RDI and BMI (p = 0.04), RDI and age (p = 0.013) and RDI and disease activity (p = 0.014) was seen. No major correlation could be found between RDI and the duration of disease activity nor between RDI and GH levels.
Conclusion
RDI correlates positively with disease activity but not with the duration of the disease. The parameters of the metabolic syndrome are positively associated to the degree of SA in acromegalic patients.
Similar content being viewed by others
Abbreviations
- BMI:
-
Body mass index
- CSA:
-
Central SA
- CV:
-
Coefficient of variation
- DM:
-
Diabetes mellitus
- EEG:
-
Electroencaphalogram
- EMG:
-
Electromyography
- EOG:
-
Electrooculography
- F:
-
Female
- GH:
-
Growth hormone
- HbA1c:
-
Haemoglobin A1c
- hGH:
-
Human growth hormone
- IFG:
-
Impaired fasting glucose
- IGFBP3:
-
IGF binding protein 3
- IGF-I:
-
Insulin-like growth factor-I
- M:
-
Male
- N:
-
Number
- NREM:
-
Non-rapid eye movements
- OSA:
-
Obstructive SA
- RDI:
-
Respiratory disturbance index
- REM:
-
Rapid eye movements
- SA:
-
Sleep apnoea
- SMS:
-
Somatostatin analogues
- xULN:
-
The multiple of the upper limit of normal
- Yrs:
-
Years
References
Series F, Cormier Y, La Forge J (1990) Influence of apnea type and sleep stage on nocturnal postapneic desaturation. Am Rev Respir Dis 141(6):1522–1526
Weitzenblum E, Krieger J, Apprill M, Vallee E, Ehrhart M, Ratomaharo J, Oswald M, Kurtz D (1988) Daytime pulmonary hypertension in patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. Am Rev Respir Dis 138(2):345–349
Bradley TD, Rutherford R, Grossman RF, Lue F, Zamel N, Moldofsky H, Phillipson EA (1985) Role of daytime hypoxemia in the pathogenesis of right heart failure in the obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. Am Rev Respir Dis 131(6):835–839
Wright AD, Hill DM, Lowy C, Fraser TR (1970) Mortality in acromegaly. Q J Med 39(153):1–16
Colao A, Ferone D, Marzullo P, Lombardi G (2004) Systemic complications of acromegaly: epidemiology, pathogenesis, and management. Endocr Rev 25(1):102–152
Giustina A, Melmed S (2003) Acromegaly consensus: the next steps. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 88(4):1913–1914
Orme SM, McNally RJ, Cartwright RA, Belchetz PE (1998) Mortality and cancer incidence in acromegaly: a retrospective cohort study. United Kingdom Acromegaly Study Group. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 83(8):2730–2734
Rosenow F, Reuter S, Deuss U, Szelies B, Hilgers RD, Winkelmann W, Heiss WD (1996) Sleep apnoea in treated acromegaly: relative frequency and predisposing factors. Clin Endocrinol (Oxf) 45(5):563–569
Grunstein RR, Ho KY, Sullivan CE (1991) Sleep apnea in acromegaly. Ann Intern Med 115(7):527–532
Dostalova S, Sonka K, Smahel Z, Weiss V, Marek J, Horinek D (2001) Craniofacial abnormalities and their relevance for sleep apnoea syndrome aetiopathogenesis in acromegaly. Eur J Endocrinol 144(5):491–497
Hochban W, Ehlenz K, Conradt R, Brandenburg U (1999) Obstructive sleep apnoea in acromegaly: the role of craniofacial changes. Eur Respir J 14(1):196–202
Grunstein RR, Ho KY, Berthon-Jones M, Stewart D, Sullivan CE (1994) Central sleep apnea is associated with increased ventilatory response to carbon dioxide and hypersecretion of growth hormone in patients with acromegaly. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 150(2):496–502
Herrmann BL, Wessendorf TE, Ajaj W, Kahlke S, Teschler H, Mann K (2004) Effects of octreotide on sleep apnoea and tongue volume (magnetic resonance imaging) in patients with acromegaly. Eur J Endocrinol 151(3):309–315
Weiss V, Sonka K, Pretl M, Dostalova S, Klozar J, Rambousek P, Marek J, Haas T (2000) Prevalence of the sleep apnea syndrome in acromegaly population. J Endocrinol Invest 23(8):515–519
Hart TB, Radow SK, Blackard WG, Tucker HS, Cooper KR (1985) Sleep apnea in active acromegaly. Arch Intern Med 145(5):865–866
Davi MV, Dalle Carbonare L, Giustina A, Ferrari M, Frigo A, Lo Cascio V, Francia G (2008) Sleep apnoea syndrome is highly prevalent in acromegaly and only partially reversible after biochemical control of the disease. Eur J Endocrinol 159(5):533–540
Berg C, Wessendorf TE, Mortsch F, Forsting M, Teschler H, Weischer T, Mann K, Saller B, Herrmann BL (2009) Influence of disease control with pegvisomant on sleep apnoea and tongue volume in patients with active acromegaly. Eur J Endocrinol 161(6):829–835
Rechtschaffen A, Kales A (1968) A manual of standardized terminology, techniques and scoring systems for sleep stages of human subjects. Brain Information Service/Brain Research Institute, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles
Sze L, Schmid C, Bloch KE, Bernays R, Brandle M (2007) Effect of transsphenoidal surgery on sleep apnoea in acromegaly. Eur J Endocrinol 156(3):321–329
Ip MS, Tan KC, Peh WC, Lam KS (2001) Effect of Sandostatin LAR on sleep apnoea in acromegaly: correlation with computerized tomographic cephalometry and hormonal activity. Clin Endocrinol (Oxf) 55(4):477–483
Ezzat S, Forster MJ, Berchtold P, Redelmeier DA, Boerlin V, Harris AG (1994) Acromegaly. Clinical and biochemical features in 500 patients. Medicine (Baltimore) 73(5):233–240
Fatti LM, Scacchi M, Pincelli AI, Lavezzi E, Cavagnini F (2001) Prevalence and pathogenesis of sleep apnea and lung disease in acromegaly. Pituitary 4(4):259–262
van Haute FR, Taboada GF, Correa LL, Lima GA, Fontes R, Riello AP, Dominici M, Gadelha MR (2008) Prevalence of sleep apnea and metabolic abnormalities in patients with acromegaly and analysis of cephalometric parameters by magnetic resonance imaging. Eur J Endocrinol 158(4):459–465
Kales A, Bixler EO, Cadieux RJ, Schneck DW, Shaw LC 3rd, Locke TW, Vela-Bueno A, Soldatos CR (1984) Sleep apnoea in a hypertensive population. Lancet 2(8410):1005–1008
Fletcher EC (1995) The relationship between systemic hypertension and obstructive sleep apnea: facts and theory. Am J Med 98(2):118–128
Assoumou HG, Gaspoz JM, Sforza E, Pichot V, Celle S, Maudoux D, Kossovsky M, Chouchou F, Barthelemy JC, Roche F (2011) Obstructive sleep apnea and the metabolic syndrome in an elderly healthy population: the SYNAPSE cohort. Sleep Breath. doi:10.1007/s11325-011-0593-y
Einhorn D, Stewart DA, Erman MK, Gordon N, Philis-Tsimikas A, Casal E (2007) Prevalence of sleep apnea in a population of adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Endocr Pract 13(4):355–362
Baldelli R, Battista C, Leonetti F, Ghiggi MR, Ribaudo MC, Paoloni A, D'Amico E, Ferretti E, Baratta R, Liuzzi A, Trischitta V, Tamburrano G (2003) Glucose homeostasis in acromegaly: effects of long-acting somatostatin analogues treatment. Clin Endocrinol (Oxf) 59(4):492–499
Steffin B, Gutt B, Bidlingmaier M, Dieterle C, Oltmann F, Schopohl J (2006) Effects of the long-acting somatostatin analogue Lanreotide Autogel on glucose tolerance and insulin resistance in acromegaly. Eur J Endocrinol 155(1):73–78
Barbe F, Duran-Cantolla J, Capote F, de la Pena M, Chiner E, Masa JF, Gonzalez M, Marin JM, Garcia-Rio F, de Atauri JD, Teran J, Mayos M, Monasterio C, del Campo F, Gomez S, de la Torre MS, Martinez M, Montserrat JM (2010) Long-term effect of continuous positive airway pressure in hypertensive patients with sleep apnea. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 181(7):718–726
Hassaballa HA, Tulaimat A, Herdegen JJ, Mokhlesi B (2005) The effect of continuous positive airway pressure on glucose control in diabetic patients with severe obstructive sleep apnea. Sleep Breath 9(4):176–180
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
J. Roemmler and B. Gutt contributed equally to this paper.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Roemmler, J., Gutt, B., Fischer, R. et al. Elevated incidence of sleep apnoea in acromegaly—correlation to disease activity. Sleep Breath 16, 1247–1253 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11325-011-0641-7
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11325-011-0641-7