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Age and severity matched comparison of gender differences in the prevalence of periodic limb movements during sleep in patients with obstructive sleep apnea

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Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this study was to investigate gender differences of periodic limb movements during sleep (PLMS) in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

Methods

This was a case–control study recruiting 364 patients with OSA (182 men, 182 women) matched for age and apnea–hypopnea index (AHI). All participants underwent overnight polysomnography (PSG), followed by the multiple sleep latency test (MSLT) and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS).

Results

Women with OSA had a significantly higher prevalence of PLMS than men (24.2 vs. 15.9 %, p < 0.05). Women with OSA showed an increased prevalence of PLMS compared to men in the younger group aged ≤55 years (23.0 vs. 10.6 %, p < 0.05), but not in the older groups >55 years (25.3 vs. 21.6 %, p > 0.05). Binary linear regression analysis in OSA patients confirmed that women were more likely to have PLMS than men (OR 1.71, 95 % CI 1.00–2.92), particularly in patients with age ≤55 years old (OR 2.48, 95 % CI 1.06–5.79), after adjusting for age, BMI, AHI, and habits of smoking and drinking.

Conclusions

The results demonstrate that, for patients with OSA, young women had significantly increased prevalence of PLMS compared to young men, but there was no difference in prevalence of PLMS between the men and women in the older age group.

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Acknowledgments

This research was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81170072 and 81328010) and supported in part by the National Basic Research Program of China (No. 2015CB856400) and Key Projects in the National Science & Technology Pillar Program during the twelfth Five-year Plan Period (No.2012BAI05B02). The authors thank Dr. Larry Sanford at Eastern Virginia Medical School for help in editing the manuscript.

Conflict of interest

All authors certify that they have no affiliations with or involvement in any organization or entity with any financial interest (such as honoraria; educational grants; participation in speakers’ bureaus; membership, employment, consultancies, stock ownership, or other equity interest; and expert testimony or patent-licensing arrangements) or nonfinancial interest (such as personal or professional relationships, affiliations, knowledge, or beliefs) in the subject matter or materials discussed in this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sleep Medicine Center, Mental Health Center, Translational Neuroscience Center, Department of Otolaryngology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, 28 Dian Xin Nan Jie, Chengdu City, 610041, Sichuan Province, China

    Rong Ren, Junying Zhou, Yun Li, Yuanfeng Sun, Guangyao Zhou & Xiangdong Tang

  2. The Third Hospital of Mianyang, Mianyang, China

    Guoping Huang

  3. Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

    Jihui Zhang, Junying Zhou & Yun-Kwok Wing

  4. National Institute on Drug Dependence, Peking University Sixth Hospital/Institute of Mental Health and Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing, China

    Suxia Li & Lin Lu

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  1. Rong Ren
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Correspondence to Xiangdong Tang.

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Ren, R., Huang, G., Zhang, J. et al. Age and severity matched comparison of gender differences in the prevalence of periodic limb movements during sleep in patients with obstructive sleep apnea. Sleep Breath 20, 821–827 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11325-015-1231-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11325-015-1231-x

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