Gender difference in sleep profile of severely obese patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA)

OBJECTIVES

Few papers addressed the gender difference in the polisomnographic features of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). In this paper we investigated the sleep architecture and the nocturnal respiratory pattern in a group of severely obese women with OSA compared with a group of men with OSA matched by age and weight.

DESIGN

A cross-sectional study.

SETTING

Primary-care setting.

SUBJECTS, MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Anthropometric parameters, respiratory function data and a full night polisomnography were evaluated in a group of 45 obese subjects, 20 females and 25 males, with a previous diagnosis of OSA.

RESULTS

The group of the severely obese women with OSA presented greater disturbances of the sleep architecture than the group of the men does (wake time after sleep onset 92.6+/-52.4 vs 58.2+/-45.2 min, P<0.05; total wake time 104.8+/-51.4 vs 67.8+/-47.4, P<0.05; number of awakenings 15.5+/-3.6 vs 10.2+/-6.215, P<0.001; OSA that occurred almost exclusively during REM sleep (REM OSA) 35% vs 4%, P<0.05) and a reduced sleep efficiency (69.6+/-15.9 vs 80.3+/-14.0%, P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Severely obese women with OSA, even with milder OSA, present greater disturbances of the sleep architecture with a more severe sleep disruption and more frequently REM OSA in comparison with men matched by age and weight.