Obstructive sleep apnea in patients with primary Sjogren's syndrome

Here is a summary of a 2021 study into sleep apnea in patients with Sjogren's syndrome. Sleep apnea has been tied to an increased risk in cardiovascular and metabolic health. 

Sleep apnea is a potentially serious sleep disorder in which breathing repeatedly stops and starts. If you snore loudly and feel tired even after a full night's sleep, you might have sleep apnea. The main types of sleep apnea are:

• Obstructive sleep apnea, the more common form that occurs when throat muscles relax
• Central sleep apnea, which occurs when your brain doesn't send proper signals to the muscles that control breathing
• Complex sleep apnea syndrome, also known as treatment-emergent central sleep apnea, which occurs when someone has both obstructive sleep apnea and central sleep apnea - Mayo Clinic 

This research investigated Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

 

 

INTRODUCTION

There is a lack of information about the frequency of obstructive sleep apnea in primary Sjogren’s syndrome (pSS). This study aimed to investigate the frequency of OSA in pSS and the frequency of it in this condition. 

METHODS

Patients with pSS who presented to the Collagen Tissue Diseases follow-up polyclinic of the Department of Chest Diseases between 1 April 2019 and 31 December, 2020, were included in the study. 

Demographic characteristics, chronic diseases, smoking history, body measurement data, Epworth Sleepiness Scale score, pulmonary function test parameters, current thorax computed tomography findings, and all-night polysomnography (PSG) data were recorded. 

Polysomnography is a comprehensive test used to diagnose sleep disorders. Polysomnography records your brain waves, the oxygen level in your blood, heart rate and breathing, as well as eye and leg movements during the study. - Mayo Clinic.

The control group was created from patients admitted to the sleep polyclinic and who underwent PSG but did not have pSS.

Spirometry is one of the pulmonary function tests

RESULTS

OSA was detected in 37 (84%) of 44 patients with pSS who underwent PSG. 

Of 37 patients with OSA, 25 (68%) had moderate or severe OSA. 

Snoring and witnessed apneas, REM%, snoring index, and maximum apnea and maximum hypopnea duration were statistically significantly lower in the pSS group compared with the control group. These findings suggest that witnessed apnea and snoring may be insufficient in predicting the presence of OSA in pSS. For this reason, we recommend that patients with pSS without snoring and witnessed apnea should also be evaluated using PSG for the presence of OSA.

Hypopnea is a sleep breathing disorder that causes shallow breathing episodes.

CONCLUSION

The frequency of OSA in patients with pSS was 84%, with a decrease in REM%. Physicians are recommended to be attentive for the presence of OSA in all patients with pSS and to investigate OSA using PSG.

SOURCE: Karabul, E., Borekci, S., Ugurlu, S. et al. The frequency of obstructive sleep apnea in patients with primary Sjogren’s syndrome. Sleep Breath (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11325-021-02491-0