[Relationship of symptoms with sleep-stage abnormalities in obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome].

Objective

To study the relationship between symptoms and sleep staging in OSAHS patients.Method:A cross-sectional study. Adult subjects who attended a sleep laboratory for diagnostic polysomnography for a period of 1 month were recruited consecutively.OSAHS was diagnosed using American Academy of Sleep Medicine criteria.Subjects filled a questionnaire for symptoms prior to polysomnography.Result:Thirty subjects, of whom 83.3% were obese, met diagnostic criteria, with males constituting 46.7% and females constituting 53%.Mean age was (53.40±11.60) years.Sleep architecture comprised N1 (19.50±19.00)%, N2 (53.93±13.39)%,N3 (3.90±19.50)%, and rapid eye movement (8.92±6.21)%.Excessive fatigue or sleepiness, waking up tired, falling asleep during the day, trouble paying attention, snoring and insomnia were significantly related to decreased N3 sleep.

Conclusion

Most of the symptoms in OSAHS in adults are related to decreased stage N3 sleep.If confirmed by larger controlled studies, correcting N3 sleep deficiency by pharmacotherapy may become an important adjunct to CPAP/BIPAP therapy to alleviate symptoms.