Nocturnal hypoxemic burden in obesity hypoventilation syndrome compared to obstructive sleep apnea: a case-control...

Obesity hypoventilation syndrome (OHS) is a severe consequence of the global obesity epidemic. This study compared the patterns and severity of nocturnal oxygen desaturation in adults with OHS and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

This case-control study conducted at King Abdulaziz University Hospital reviewed polysomnography (PSG) records (2016-2022) of patients with OHS and OSA. The data included demographics, BMI, and indices (apnea-hypopnea index [AHI], baseline/minimum SpO₂, percentage of total sleep time with SpO₂ < 90 percent [T90], total sleep time). GraphPad Prism was used for the analysis. Data were summarized as medians and interquartile ranges (IQR). Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis tests with Dunn's test were used to compare groups. Fisher's exact test analyzed categorical variables (p < 0.05). The study was approved by the Ethics Committee.

Of the 199 PSG studies, 15 patients met OHS criteria and 184 had OSA. The OHS group had a higher BMI (50.0 [47.0-55.0] kg m^-2) than the OSA group (45.0 [32.0-48.8] kg m^-2; p > 0.001). Baseline SpO₂ (89 [86-94] vs. 95 [93-97]%; p = 0.001), SpO₂ nadir (72 [63-81]% vs 82 [74-88]%; p = 0.007), average SpO₂ (87 [86-94]% vs. 94 [92-95]%; p = 0.003) and T90 (71 [3-93]% vs 2 [0-18]%; p = 0.001) were worse in OHS. Age and AHI were similar. Women were older than men in both groups. Women with OHS showed lowest baseline SpO₂ (88%), nadir SpO₂ (67%), and highest T90 (91%), differing from other groups (p < 0.05). AHI and sleep time remained similar.

Despite similar AHI, OHS is associated with a greater hypoxemic burden than OSA, especially in females. These findings underscore the need to consider both diagnosis and sex in sleep-disordered breathing to develop sex-specific treatment approaches.