Association between normal tension glaucoma and the risk of obstructive sleep apnoea using the STOP-Bang...

To assess the association between patients with normal tension glaucoma (NTG) and the risk of obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) using the STOP-Bang questionnaire.

A population-based cross-sectional analysis was performed using data from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2019 to 2021. An overall of 8832 subjects ≥ 40 years of age were investigated. Patients with NTG and controls completed the STOP-Bang questionnaire, a validated tool for identifying high-risk patients for OSA. The patients were divided into low-, intermediate-, and high-risk groups based on their scores.

The mean STOP-Bang scores were 2.04 ± 0.02 in the control group and 2.42 ± 0.10 in the NTG group, with significant differences between groups (p < 0.001). In univariate logistic regression models, both intermediate-risk (Odds ratio (OR), 1.42; 95% Confidence intervals (CI), 1.05-1.91) and high-risk (OR, 1.71; 95% CI, 1.22-2.40) for OSA groups revealed a significant relationship regarding NTG compared to low-risk for OSA group. When adjusted for all confounding factors, the high risk for the OSA group was significantly associated with NTG (OR, 1.54; 95% CI, 1.06-2.24).

Our results indicate that high-risk OSA, as measured using the STOP-Bang questionnaire, correlates with NTG. Therefore, patients who scored two or more on the STOP-Bang questionnaire and were male, had a BMI > 35 or a neck circumference > 40 cm, or those who scored five or more and were classified as high risk should be carefully monitored because of the significantly higher likelihood of an association with NTG.