Effectiveness of aerobic exercise training in patients with obstructive sleep apnea: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Purpose Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a sleep-related disorder, reports significant clinical consequences, apart from its socioeconomic burden globally. Among the physiotherapeutic treatment options, exercise training is primarily preferred for these patients. In the current systematic review and meta-analysis, we hypothesize that aerobic exercise training could be beneficial in reducing the severity of OSA. Methods A thorough literature search was carried out from Scopus, PubMed, CINAHL, Cochrane, and Embase databases following the PRISMA guidelines, and eight studies were included. The primary outcome was the apnea hypopnea index (AHI) and secondary outcomes were maximal oxygen consumption, oxygen desaturation index, mean oxygen saturation during sleep, Epworth sleepiness scale, body mass index, and neck circumference. RevMan version 5.4.1 was utilized for analysis. Results Meta-analysis involved seven studies that showed that aerobic training significantly improved the AHI with a mean difference of -5.24 and an overall effect of p < 0.00001; and VO2max with a mean difference of 5.84 and an overall effect of p = 0.03. The other secondary outcomes reported improvement but were not significant. Conclusion The current review concludes that there is supporting evidence for the beneficial effects of aerobic exercise training in reducing the severity of obstructive sleep apnea.