Abstract
Prevalence of abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) in France is between 0.8% to 7.5%. Rupture risk of AAA is strongly related to the evolution of its diameter. The role of sleep apnea (SA) remains still discussed. The objective of this study was to study the prevalence of SA in the patients presenting with AAA in comparison with general population and relation between AAA diameter and severity of SA.
Between 2012 and 2014, we included 59 patients referred for the treatment of an AAA. For all patients a polysomnography was conducted. Apnea/hypopnea index (AHI)>10/h was chosen for diagnosis of SA. Age, body mass index (BMI), AHI, and diameter of AAA were recorded. Prevalence of SA was compared with the national prevalence estimated in France. In addition, 4 groups were distributed according to the diameter of the AAA (group 1: diameter (d) ≤ 50mm; group 2: 50mm< d ≤55mm; group 3: 55mm< d ≤60mm; group 4: d > 60mm). The prevalence of SA, the AHI, and the duration of desaturation were compared between the groups.
61.5% of the patients presented SA - a prevalence significantly higher than in the general population (61.5 vs 7.5%, p<0.001). Distribution of groups was: group 1, n= 9 patients, group 2, n= 20 patients, group 3, n=16 patients and group 4, n=14 patients. The prevalence of SA increased with the diameter of the AAA (group 1: 20%; group 2: 35%; group 3: 72% and group 4: 77%; p=0.015). SA was more severe in group 4 (AHI was 35 in group 4 vs. 17 in group 3 [p=0.0043], 17 in group 2 [(p=0.01], and 5.4 in group 1 [p=0.0003]).
Prevalence of sleep apnea in patients with an AAA seems to be significantly higher than in the general population. The growth of the aneurysm seems to be linked to the severity of SAS.
- Copyright ©the authors 2016