A fatty meal aggravates apnea and increases sleep in patients with obstructive sleep apnea.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of a fatty meal before bedtime, on sleep characteristics and blood pressure in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

METHODS

Recently diagnosed, by full polysomnography (PSG), patients with OSA (n=19) were included. These underwent PSG for additional two consecutive nights. Two hours before the PSG examination, a ham and cheese sandwich of 360 kcal was served to all patients, at first night, while a fatty meal of 1,800 kcal was served before the second PSG examination. Comparisons were performed between the last two examinations in terms of PSG data and morning and night blood pressure measurements.

RESULTS

After the fatty meal, a significant increase was observed in total sleep time (p=0.026) in the Apnea-Hypopnea Index (AHI) (p=0.015), as well as in the absolute number of obstructive and central apneas (p=0.032 and p=0.042, respectively) compared to the previous night. Conversely, distribution of sleep stages and indices of nocturnal hypoxia (average and minimum SpO2 and sleep time with SpO2<90 %) did not change significantly. Likewise, no significant change was observed in blood pressure measurements.

CONCLUSIONS

Fatty meal intake before sleep can increase AHI in OSA patients, although it does not affect sleep architecture or indices of hypoxia.