Does AHI Value Enough for Evaluating the Obstructive Sleep Apnea Severity?

Area of Science:

• Sleep Medicine
• Pulmonology
• Public Health

Background:

• Obstructive sleep apnea/hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) is a prevalent public health issue.
• Polysomnography (PSG) is the gold standard for OSAHS diagnosis, with the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) as a key metric.
• Daytime sleepiness, often assessed by the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), is a primary OSAHS complaint, yet its correlation with AHI can be inconsistent.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate factors beyond AHI that may contribute to daytime sleepiness in OSAHS patients.
• To explore the relationship between anthropometric measurements, nocturnal hypoxemia markers, and daytime sleepiness.
• To determine if AHI alone is sufficient for predicting daytime sleepiness.

Main Methods:

• Evaluated 648 patients with snoring and apnea complaints using polysomnography and anthropometric measurements.
• Classified patients into groups based on AHI values and analyzed ESS scores within similar AHI strata.
• Utilized a cut-off ESS score of 10 to indicate severe daytime sleepiness.

Main Results:

• Patients experiencing daytime sleepiness exhibited elevated BMI and neck circumference.
• Nocturnal hypoxemia markers, including apnea frequency, duration, and oxygen saturation levels (SpO2 < 90%), were significantly affected in the daytime sleepiness group.
• AHI alone was found to be insufficient for predicting the severity of daytime sleepiness.

Conclusions:

• Anthropometric measurements (BMI, neck circumference) are important indicators associated with daytime sleepiness in OSAHS.
• Nocturnal hypoxemia markers provide additional valuable information for assessing daytime sleepiness in OSAHS.
• A comprehensive evaluation including AHI, anthropometric data, and hypoxemia markers is recommended for predicting daytime sleepiness in OSAHS.