Poor lung function linked to severe sleep apnoea in middle-aged adults
A major Swedish study of 9,000 people finds that reduced lung capacity correlates with obstructive sleep apnoea severity—a finding that could reshape how clinicians screen and treat both conditions. Since sleep apnoea affects an estimated 10% of middle-aged adults and drives cardiovascular costs, integrated respiratory assessment may identify high-risk patients earlier.
Originaltitel: Obstructive sleep apnoea and lung function, and their association with nocturnal hypoxemia: results from the Swedish CArdioPulmonary bioimage Study (SCAPIS) - a cross-sectional study
<p>Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) and its associations with lung function.</p><p>BACKGROUND: OSA is highly prevalent and characterised by abnormal respiration during sleep. This large, population-based study aimed to investigate the associations between OSA and lung function in subjects aged 50-64 years.</p><p>METHOD: The population-based Swedish CArdioPulmonary bioimage Study includes information on anthropometry, comorbidities and spirometry. The current analysis included data from three centres (Gothenburg, Umeå and Uppsala) on whole-night respiratory polygraphy as a meta-analysis examining the overall effect size of lung function on sleep apnoea severity, expressed as ß-coefficient after stratifying for sex and adjusting for age, waist circumference and smoking status.</p><p>RESULTS: Data from 9016 participants (54% women, age 58±4 years, body mass index 27±4 kg/m2 ) with sleep recordings of good quality were included in the final analysis. Forced expiratory volume during 1 s (FEV 1 ) (ß=-0.10 (95% CI -0.16 to -0.03)), forced vital capacity (FVC) (-0.15 (-0.21 to -0.10)) and diffusion capacity for carbon monoxide (DLCO ) (-0.08 (-0.10 to -0.05)) were all negatively associated with the oxygen desaturation index (ODI) and also with per cent of registration with nocturnal oxygen saturation <90% FVC (-0.44 (-0.87 to -0.01)), FEV 1 (-0.86 (-1.36 to -0.36)) and DL CO (-0.47 (-0.60 to -0.35)). Additionally, a positive association was observed between FEV 1 (0.13 (0.05 to 0.22)) and DL CO (0.07 (0.04 to 0.09)) with the mean nocturnal saturation. There was a negative association between DL CO and apnoea-hypopnoea index, AHI, (ß=-0.04 (95% CI-0.06 to -0.03)), while no associations were found between FEV 1 or FVC and AHI.</p><p>CONCLUSION: In OSA, lower lung function is more distinctly associated with the nocturnal hypoxic burden than AHI. Potential lung function impairment should be investigated in OSA patients with a high ODI relative to AHI.</p>