Abstract
Introduction: obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (SAOS) is a common disease in the general population. However, studies in the elderly are few and their results are discordant
Aim: to compare clinical profile and compliance to continuous positive airway pressure(CPAP) between old and young patients with severe SAOS
Methods: prospective study including 80 patients with severe SAOS diagnosed between 2010 and 2011 and followed up of 4 years. Our population is divided into 2 groups:
G1: 63 patients with age<65 years.
G2: 17 patients with age ≥65 years.
Results: we reported 53 women and 27 men.The mean age was 51 years in G1 and 70 in G2. Elderly patients were more likely to be obese and to have significantly more chronic comorbidities (p=0,01) ( hypertension: 88,2%, arrhythmias 29,4%, coronary artery disease 29,4%, dyslipidemia29,4%, diabetes 83,3% and hypothyroidism 50%). Old patients are more likely to report daytime somnolence (Epworth scale:11, 6), depression (23,5%), restless sleep (59%) and morning fatigue (64%), and less likely to report breathing pauses (35%), and frequent snoring(94%). There are no significant difference in severity of sleep apnea, in terms of AHI (51,9) and median desaturation index (33,3) between the 2 groups. In long term use of CPAP, elderly population was more compliant with a respectively median daily use of 4.77, 5.52, 5.55 and 5.37 hours at 3, 6, 12 and 24 months. Finally, CPAP side effects were significantly more common in young people (p=0.01)
Conclusion: Untreated severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular mortality in the elderly, and adequate treatment with CPAP may significantly reduce this risk.
- Copyright ©ERS 2015