Apnea revisited: a longitudinal follow-up

Volunteers aged 65 years and over who were previously studied underwent follow-up interviews and sleep recordings several years later (mean follow-up, 4.6 years). Modest correlations between the initial and subsequent recordings were found for apnea index, hypopnea index, and respiratory disturbance index. Sleep apnea indices did not increase over time; however, individual subjects showed great variability in amount of apnea. Periodic leg movement indices, on the other hand, significantly increased. Subjective reports indicated a significant increase in the amount of time spent awake and a significant decrease in the amount of loud snoring.