Progression of snoring and obstructive sleep apnoea: the role of increasing weight and time

¹ Dept of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Meir Medical Center, Kfar Saba
² Sleep Disorders Unit, Loewenstein Hospital Rehabilitation Center, Raanana, affiliated with Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: arieo{at}clali.org.il.

	Abstract

To examine the natural evolution of primary snoring and obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) in adult male patients.

A retrospective analysis on 160 untreated patients with primary snoring, mild, moderate and severe OSA who had two polysomnographic (PSG) recordings, mean time between recordings (TBR) was 5.1±3 yrs.

The mean apnoea-hypopnoea Index (AHI), Body Mass Index (BMI), lowest SaO₂ level during Rapid Eye Movement (REM) and Non-REM sleep showed a significant worsening effect. The change in AHI differed among the groups showing a similar significant increase in AHI for primary snoring, mild, and moderate OSA and an insignificant decrease for severe OSA patients. Stepwise linear regression showed that only BMI and time were significant predictors for AHI change. A model for the mean AHI change showed that: AHI=4.33xBMI+0.66xTBR, R²=.322. After adjusting for confounders, multiple regression analysis indicated that age and high levels of BMI but not AHI were significant risk factors for developing hypertension and/or cardiovascular disease.

Patients with primary snoring, mild and moderate OSA had a similar increase in AHI over time which depended mainly on weight gain and to a lesser degree on time.