Nocturnal Urinary Symptoms as Screening Tools for Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Area of Science:

• Urogynecology
• Sleep Medicine
• Pulmonology

Background:

• Nocturnal lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) are associated with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).
• Urogynecology clinics are potential sites for OSA screening due to routine LUTS assessment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the accuracy of nocturia and nocturnal enuresis (NE) as screening tools for OSA in new patients at a urogynecology clinic.
• To determine the sensitivity and specificity of nocturia and NE for identifying OSA.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective study design analyzing data from women in a urogynecology clinic.
• Assessed diagnostic OSA testing, CPAP use, and LUTS improvement.
• Validated questionnaires were used for OSA screening.
• Polysomnography served as the gold standard for OSA diagnosis.

Main Results:

• Nocturia (≥2 episodes/night) demonstrated 86.4% sensitivity and 58.5% specificity for OSA screening (overall accuracy 78.4%).
• Nocturnal enuresis (≥1 episode/week) showed 31.8% sensitivity and 79.3% specificity (overall accuracy 56.1%).

Conclusions:

• Nocturia is a viable screening tool for OSA in urogynecology settings, with ≥2 episodes per night showing acceptable test characteristics.
• Nocturnal enuresis exhibited less favorable test characteristics for OSA screening.
• Urogynecology clinics can integrate nocturia assessment into clinical decision-making for OSA referral.