scholarly journals Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Women: Specific Issues and Interventions

2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alison Wimms ◽  
Holger Woehrle ◽  
Sahisha Ketheeswaran ◽  
Dinesh Ramanan ◽  
Jeffery Armitstead
Keyword(s):  
Obstructive Sleep Apnea ◽  
Sleep Apnea ◽  
Correct Diagnosis ◽  
Upper Airway ◽  
Fat Distribution ◽  
Apnea Hypopnea Index ◽  
Optimal Care ◽  
Obstructive Sleep ◽  
Osa Treatment ◽  
Degrees Of Severity

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) has traditionally been seen as a male disease. However, the importance of OSA in women is increasingly being recognized, along with a number of significant gender-related differences in the symptoms, diagnosis, consequences, and treatment of OSA. Women tend to have less severe OSA than males, with a lower apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) and shorter apneas and hypopneas. Episodes of upper airway resistance that do not meet the criteria for apneas are more common in women. Prevalence rates are lower in women, and proportionally fewer women receive a correct diagnosis. Research has also documented sex differences in the upper airway, fat distribution, and respiratory stability in OSA. Hormones are implicated in some gender-related variations, with differences between men and women in the prevalence of OSA decreasing as age increases. The limited data available suggest that although the prevalence and severity of OSA may be lower in women than in men, the consequences of the disease are at least the same, if not worse for comparable degrees of severity. Few studies have investigated gender differences in the effects of OSA treatment. However, given the differences in physiology and presentation, it is possible that personalized therapy may provide more optimal care.

scholarly journals Obstructive Sleep Apnea: Emerging Treatments Targeting the Genioglossus Muscle

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (10) ◽  
pp. 1754 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olga Mediano ◽  
Sofia Romero-Peralta ◽  
Pilar Resano ◽  
Irene Cano-Pumarega ◽  
Manuel Sánchez-de-la-Torre ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Obstructive Sleep Apnea ◽  
Sleep Apnea ◽  
Muscle Tone ◽  
Treatment Strategies ◽  
Upper Airway ◽  
Apnea Hypopnea Index ◽  
Compensatory Response ◽  
Dilator Muscle ◽  
Obstructive Sleep ◽  
Osa Treatment

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is characterized by repetitive episodes of upper airway obstruction caused by a loss of upper airway dilator muscle tone during sleep and an inadequate compensatory response by these muscles in the context of an anatomically compromised airway. The genioglossus (GG) is the main upper airway dilator muscle. Currently, continuous positive airway pressure is the first-line treatment for OSA. Nevertheless, problems related to poor adherence have been described in some groups of patients. In recent years, new OSA treatment strategies have been developed to improve GG function. (A) Hypoglossal nerve electrical stimulation leads to significant improvements in objective (apnea-hypopnea index, or AHI) and subjective measurements of OSA severity, but its invasive nature limits its application. (B) A recently introduced combination of drugs administered orally before bedtime reduces AHI and improves the responsiveness of the GG. (C) Finally, myofunctional therapy also decreases AHI, and it might be considered in combination with other treatments. Our objective is to review these therapies in order to advance current understanding of the prospects for alternative OSA treatments.

scholarly journals Upper airway lengthening caused by weight increase in obstructive sleep apnea patients

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hongyi Lin ◽  
Huahui Xiong ◽  
Changjin Ji ◽  
Cunting Wang ◽  
Yong Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Obstructive Sleep Apnea ◽  
Body Weight ◽  
Sleep Apnea ◽  
Head Tilt ◽  
Upper Airway ◽  
Fat Distribution ◽  
Weight Increase ◽  
Apnea Hypopnea Index ◽  
Obese People ◽  
Obstructive Sleep

Abstract Background The longer upper airway is more collapsible during sleep. This study aims to reveal relationships among upper airway length, weight, and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), particularly to answer why the upper airway of OSA patients is longer than that of healthy people and why some obese people suffer from OSA while others do not. Methods We perform head and neck MRI on male patients and controls, and measure > 20 morphological parameters, including several never before investigated, to quantify the effect of weight change on upper airway length. Results The upper airway length is longer in patients and correlates strongly to body weight. Weight increase leads to significant fat infiltration in the tongue, causing the hyoid to move downward and lengthen the airway in patients. The apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) strongly correlates to airway length and tongue size. Surprisingly, a distance parameter h and angle β near the occipital bone both show significant differences between healthy males and patients due to their different head backward tilt angle, and strongly correlates with AHI. The contributions of downward hyoid movement and head tilt on airway lengthening are 67.4–80.5% and19.5–32.6%, respectively, in patients. The parapharyngeal fat pad also correlates strongly with AHI. Conclusions The findings in this study reveal that the amount of body weight and distribution of deposited fat both affect airway length, and therefore OSA. Fat distribution plays a larger impact than the amount of weight, and is a better predictor of who among obese people are more prone to OSA.

Aerodynamics Analysis of the Impact of Nasal Surgery on Patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Nasal Obstruction

ORL ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Lifeng Li ◽  
Demin Han ◽  
Hongrui Zang ◽  
Nyall R. London
Keyword(s):  
Obstructive Sleep Apnea ◽  
Sleep Apnea ◽  
Nasal Obstruction ◽  
Upper Airway ◽  
Apnea Hypopnea Index ◽  
Nasal Surgery ◽  
Subjective Sleep Quality ◽  
Obstructive Sleep ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
The Impact

<b><i>Objective:</i></b> The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of nasal surgery on airflow characteristics in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) by comparing the alterations of airflow characteristics within the nasal and palatopharyngeal cavities. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> Thirty patients with OSA and nasal obstruction who underwent nasal surgery were enrolled. A pre- and postoperative 3-dimensional model was constructed, and alterations of airflow characteristics were assessed using the method of computational fluid dynamics. The other subjective and objective clinical indices were also assessed. <b><i>Results:</i></b> By comparison with the preoperative value, all postoperative subjective symptoms statistically improved (<i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.05), while the Apnea-Hypopnea Index (AHI) changed little (<i>p</i> = 0.492); the postoperative airflow velocity and pressure in both nasal and palatopharyngeal cavities, nasal and palatopharyngeal pressure differences, and total upper airway resistance statistically decreased (all <i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.01). A significant difference was derived for correlation between the alteration of simulation metrics with subjective improvements (<i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.05), except with the AHI (<i>p</i> &#x3e; 0.05). <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> Nasal surgery can decrease the total resistance of the upper airway and increase the nasal airflow volume and subjective sleep quality in patients with OSA and nasal obstruction. The altered airflow characteristics might contribute to the postoperative reduction of pharyngeal collapse in a subset of OSA patients.

Predicting critical closing pressure in children with obstructive sleep apnea using fluid structure interaction simulations

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Goutham Mylavarapu ◽  
Ephraim Gutmark ◽  
Sally Shott ◽  
Robert J. Fleck ◽  
Mohamed Mahmoud ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Obstructive Sleep Apnea ◽  
Sleep Apnea ◽  
Upper Airway ◽  
Dynamic Mri ◽  
Patient Specific ◽  
Apnea Hypopnea Index ◽  
Structure Interaction ◽  
Obstructive Sleep ◽  
Mri Scans ◽  
Closing Pressure

Surgical treatment of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in children requires knowledge of upper airway dynamics, including the closing pressure (Pcrit), a measure of airway collapsibility. We applied a Flow-Structure Interaction (FSI) computational model to estimate Pcrit in patient-specific upper airway models obtained from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans. We sought to examine the agreement between measured and estimated Pcrit from FSI models in children with Down syndrome. We hypothesized that the estimated Pcrit would accurately reflect measured Pcrit during sleep and therefore reflect the severity of OSA as measured by the obstructive apnea hypopnea index (AHI). All participants (n=41) underwent polysomnography and sedated sleep MRI scans. We used Bland Altman Plots to examine the agreement between measured and estimated Pcrit. We determined associations between estimated Pcrit and OSA severity, as measured by AHI, using regression models. The agreement between passive and estimated Pcrit showed a fixed bias of -1.31 (CI=-2.78, 0.15) and a non-significant proportional bias. A weaker agreement with active Pcrit was observed. A model including AHI, gender, an interaction term for AHI and gender and neck circumference explained the largest variation (R2 = 0.61) in the relationship between AHI and estimated Pcrit. (P <0.0001). Overlap between the areas of the airway with lowest stiffness, and areas of collapse on dynamic MRI, was 77.4%±30% for the nasopharyngeal region and 78.6%±33% for the retroglossal region. The agreement between measured and estimated Pcrit and the significant association with AHI supports the validity of Pcrit estimates from the FSI model.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea: Epidemiology, Causes, and Consequences

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diane C Lim ◽  
Richard J Schwab
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Obstructive Sleep Apnea ◽  
Sleep Apnea ◽  
Cushing Syndrome ◽  
Upper Airway ◽  
Fat Distribution ◽  
Epidemiologic Studies ◽  
Obstructive Sleep ◽  
Upper Airway Muscles ◽  
Underlying Diseases

As part one of the three chapters on sleep-disordered breathing, this chapter reviews obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) epidemiology, causes, and consequences. When comparing OSA prevalence between 1988 to 1994 and 2007 to 2010, we observe that OSA is rapidly on the rise, paralleling increasing rates in obesity. Global epidemiologic studies indicate that there are differences specific to ethnicity with Asians presenting with OSA at a lower body mass index than Caucasians. We have learned that structural and physiologic factors increase the risk of OSA and both can be influenced by genetics. Structural risk factors include craniofacial bony restriction, changes in fat distribution, and the size of the upper airway muscles. Physiologic risk factors include airway collapsibility, loop gain, pharyngeal muscle responsiveness, and arousal threshold. The consequences of OSA include daytime sleepiness and exacerbation of many underlying diseases. OSA has been associated with cardiovascular diseases including hypertension, coronary heart disease, stroke, atrial fibrillation, and other cardiac arrhythmias; pulmonary hypertension; metabolic disorders such as type 2 diabetes, hypothyroidism, acromegaly, Cushing syndrome, and polycystic ovarian syndrome; mild cognitive impairment or dementia; and cancer. This review contains 4 figures, 1 table and 48 references. Key Words: cardiac consequences, craniofacial bony restriction, epidemiology, fat distribution, metabolic disease, neurodegeneration, obesity, obstructive sleep apnea

Adenotonsillectomy for the Treatment of Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Children with Prader-Willi Syndrome: A Meta-analysis

2019 ◽  
Vol 162 (2) ◽  
pp. 168-176
Author(s):  
Chia-Hsuan Lee ◽  
Wei-Chung Hsu ◽  
Jenq-Yuh Ko ◽  
Te-Huei Yeh ◽  
Ming-Tzer Lin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Obstructive Sleep Apnea ◽  
Sleep Apnea ◽  
Success Rate ◽  
Cochrane Review ◽  
Velopharyngeal Insufficiency ◽  
Apnea Hypopnea Index ◽  
Prader Willi Syndrome ◽  
Postoperative Changes ◽  
Obstructive Sleep ◽  
Osa Treatment

Objective Adenotonsillectomy outcomes in obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) treatment among children with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) remain unclear. This study aimed to elucidate the effectiveness of adenotonsillectomy in OSA treatment among children with PWS. Data Source PubMed, MEDLINE, Embase, and Cochrane Review up to February 2019. Review Methods The registry number of the protocol published on PROSPERO was CRD42015027053. Two authors independently searched the relevant database. Polysomnography outcomes in these children were examined, including net postoperative changes in the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI), net postoperative changes in the minimum and mean oxygen saturation, the overall success rate for a postoperative AHI <1, and the overall success rate for a postoperative AHI <5. Results Six studies with 41 patients were analyzed (mean age, 5.0 years; 55% boys; mean sample size, 6.8 patients). All children had PWS and received adenotonsillectomy for the treatment of OSA. The AHI was 13.1 events per hour (95% CI, 11.0-15.1) before surgery and 4.6 events per hour (95% CI, 4.1-5.1) after surgery. The mean change in the AHI was a significant reduction of 8.0 events per hour (95% CI, −10.8 to −5.1). The overall success rate was 21% (95% CI, 11%-38%) for a postoperative AHI <1 and 71% (95% CI, 54%-83%) for a postoperative AHI <5. Some patients developed velopharyngeal insufficiency postoperatively. Conclusion Adenotonsillectomy was associated with OSA improvement among children with PWS. However, residual OSA was frequently observed postoperatively in these patients.

scholarly journals An assessment of a simple clinical technique to estimate pharyngeal collapsibility in people with obstructive sleep apnea

SLEEP ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 43 (10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amal M Osman ◽  
Benjamin K Tong ◽  
Shane A Landry ◽  
Bradley A Edwards ◽  
Simon A Joosten ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Obstructive Sleep Apnea ◽  
Sleep Apnea ◽  
Characteristic Curve ◽  
Upper Airway ◽  
Clinical Intervention ◽  
Apnea Hypopnea Index ◽  
Cpap Titration ◽  
Obstructive Sleep ◽  
Airway Collapsibility ◽  
Upper Airway Collapsibility

Abstract Study Objectives Quantification of upper airway collapsibility in obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) could help inform targeted therapy decisions. However, current techniques are clinically impractical. The primary aim of this study was to assess if a simple, novel technique could be implemented as part of a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) titration study to assess pharyngeal collapsibility. Methods A total of 35 participants (15 female) with OSA (mean ± SD apnea–hypopnea index = 35 ± 19 events/h) were studied. Participants first completed a simple clinical intervention during a routine CPAP titration, where CPAP was transiently turned off from the therapeutic pressure for ≤5 breaths/efforts on ≥5 occasions during stable non-rapid eye movement (non-REM) sleep for quantitative assessment of airflow responses (%peak inspiratory flow [PIF] from preceding 5 breaths). Participants then underwent an overnight physiology study to determine the pharyngeal critical closing pressure (Pcrit) and repeat transient drops to zero CPAP to assess airflow response reproducibility. Results Mean PIF of breaths 3–5 during zero CPAP on the simple clinical intervention versus the physiology night were similar (34 ± 29% vs. 28 ± 30% on therapeutic CPAP, p = 0.2; range 0%–90% vs. 0%–95%). Pcrit was −1.0 ± 2.5 cmH2O (range −6 to 5 cmH2O). Mean PIF during zero CPAP on the simple clinical intervention and the physiology night correlated with Pcrit (r = −0.7 and −0.9, respectively, p &lt; 0.0001). Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis indicated significant diagnostic utility for the simple intervention to predict Pcrit &lt; −2 and &lt; 0 cmH2O (AUC = 0.81 and 0.92), respectively. Conclusions A simple CPAP intervention can successfully discriminate between patients with and without mild to moderately collapsible pharyngeal airways. This scalable approach may help select individuals most likely to respond to non-CPAP therapies.

scholarly journals Speech Signal and Facial Image Processing for Obstructive Sleep Apnea Assessment

2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fernando Espinoza-Cuadros ◽  
Rubén Fernández-Pozo ◽  
Doroteo T. Toledano ◽  
José D. Alcázar-Ramírez ◽  
Eduardo López-Gonzalo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Obstructive Sleep Apnea ◽  
Sleep Apnea ◽  
Speech Processing ◽  
Upper Airway ◽  
Support Vector ◽  
Apnea Hypopnea Index ◽  
Active Appearance Models ◽  
Obstructive Sleep ◽  
Craniofacial Features ◽  
Low Dimensional

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a common sleep disorder characterized by recurring breathing pauses during sleep caused by a blockage of the upper airway (UA). OSA is generally diagnosed through a costly procedure requiring an overnight stay of the patient at the hospital. This has led to proposing less costly procedures based on the analysis of patients’ facial images and voice recordings to help in OSA detection and severity assessment. In this paper we investigate the use of both image and speech processing to estimate the apnea-hypopnea index, AHI (which describes the severity of the condition), over a population of 285 male Spanish subjects suspected to suffer from OSA and referred to a Sleep Disorders Unit. Photographs and voice recordings were collected in a supervised but not highly controlled way trying to test a scenario close to an OSA assessment application running on a mobile device (i.e., smartphones or tablets). Spectral information in speech utterances is modeled by a state-of-the-art low-dimensional acoustic representation, called i-vector. A set of local craniofacial features related to OSA are extracted from images after detecting facial landmarks using Active Appearance Models (AAMs). Support vector regression (SVR) is applied on facial features and i-vectors to estimate the AHI.

scholarly journals Lateral-Expansion Pharyngoplasty: Combined Technique for the Treatment of Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (01) ◽  
pp. e107-e111 ◽  
Author(s):  
José Antonio Pinto ◽  
Luciana Balester Mello de Godoy ◽  
Heloisa dos Santos Sobreira Nunes ◽  
Kelly Elia Abdo ◽  
Gabriella Spinola Jahic ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Obstructive Sleep Apnea ◽  
Sleep Apnea ◽  
Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome ◽  
Sleep Apnea Syndrome ◽  
Surgical Techniques ◽  
Upper Airway ◽  
Apnea Hypopnea Index ◽  
Lateral Expansion ◽  
Obstructive Sleep ◽  
Apnea Syndrome

Abstract Introduction Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is a multifactorial disease characterized by episodes of partial or complete collapse during sleep of different regions of the upper airway. Surgery for OSAS evolved with the introduction of different techniques, considering new surgical concept of reconstruction of the upper airway. Objective To retrospectively evaluate the effectiveness of a new approach aimed at reducing pharyngeal collapse by combining two surgical techniques: lateral and expansion pharyngoplasty. Methods We reviewed the medical records of 38 patients with OSAS undergoing lateral/expansion pharyngoplasty from January 2012 to December 2016. The following data were collected: patient age, gender, and pre- and postoperative body mass index (BMI), Epworth sleepiness scale (ESS) scores, snoring visual analogue scale (VAS) scores, and polysomnography (PSG) results. Results The PSG results showed a significant reduction in the apnea/hypopnea index (AHI) from 22.4 ± 27.3 events/h preoperatively to 13.6 ± 17.9 events/h postoperatively (p = 0.009), with postoperative AHI reduction greater than 50% in 63.2% of the patients. There was also a significant reduction in the microarousal index (19.5 ± 22.6 vs 11.0 ± 13.4 events/h; p = 0.001) and in the minimum oxygen saturation (82.6 ± 10.3 vs 86.9 ± 11.1; p = 0.007). Conclusions Lateral-expansion pharyngoplasty represents a new surgical strategy for the treatment of OSAS in patients with palatal collapse by combining two different techniques: lateral and expansion pharyngoplasty. The two techniques, performed as a one-stage procedure, led to improvements in excessive daytime sleepiness, snoring, and PSG respiratory parameters by acting on lateral and retropalatal collapse, producing favorable results with good applicability in otolaryngology clinical practice.

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