CHARACTERISTICS OF TURKISH PATIENTS WITH OBSTRUCTIVE SLEEP APNEA SYNDROME

Objective: Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is one of the most common sleep breathing disorders characterized by nocturnal oxygen desaturation and repeated upper airway obstruction episodes during sleep. In this study, it was aimed to assess gender specific differences in the patients with OSAS in Turkish population. Material and Method: Five hundred sixty five OSAS diagnosed patients were included into this cross-sectional study, in Istanbul between February 2000 and 2006. Diagnostic polysomnography (PSG) was performed in all patients, various factors related to gender differences in OSAS patients were analyzed retrospectively. Results: The study group was composed of 430 men and 135 women diagnosed with OSAS. Male-female ratio was 3.1/1 in our study population. The mean age rates of the men and the women were 50 +/- 12 and 54.5 +/- 13, respectively. The men were significantly younger than the women (p< 0.001). BMI was parallel between women (29.6 +/- 6) and men (29 +/- 5). AHI was significantly higher (p< 0.05) in men (15.6 +/- 17.2), compared to women (11 +/- 11.3). The most common symptoms were snoring, non-effective sleeping, excessive daytime sleepiness, and these symptomes were found to be similar in both groups. Conclusion: In this study, the majority of the subjects diagnosed with OSAS were primarily men, and male-female ratio was 3.1 /1. There was no statistically gender difference in the study population although AHI was significantly higher in men than in women. Turkish men diagnosed with OSAS are younger than women and have similar BMI with women.