Clinical profile of patients suspected of sleep apnea

Introduction: Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome is a disease with a growing prevalence worldwide that significantly affects quality of life and increases cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Objectives: To describe symptoms, comorbidities and anthropometry of patients who were clinically evaluated and underwent sleep studies to identify variables associated with a Respiratory Disturbance Index (RDI) equal or greater than 15. Material and methods: We reviewed data from a self-administered questionary, anthropometry, comorbidities and sleep studies of patients who consulted for the first time at a sleep medicine practice from June 2012 through May 2016. Results: Among 366 patients included we found 47.5% with a RDI>30, 21.9% with a RDI 15 – 29.9, 22.1% with a RDI 5 – 14.9 and 8.5% with a RDI<5. A multivariate model was built using RDI≥15 as the dependent variable. It showed that snoring more than 3 nights per week (OR 2.89, 95%CI 1.66 – 5.05), BMI ≥ 35 Kg/m2 (OR 2.53, 95%CI 1.35 – 4.72), witnessed apneas almost every night or every night (OR 1.95, 95%CI 1.09 – 3.49), male sex (OR 1.81, 95%CI 1.10 – 2.97) and the presence of high blood pressure (OR 1.67, 95%CI 1.02 – 2.74) were the most significant clinical factors. Conclusions: In our sample, the most significant predictors of a RDI >15 were: snoring more than 3 nights per week, BMI ≥ 35 Kg/m2, witnessed apneas almost every night or every night, male sex and the presence of high blood pressure.