Martínez-García Miguel Angel, Durán-Cantolla Joaquín, Montserrat José María
Hospital General de Requena, Valencia, España.
Arch Bronconeumol. 2010 Sep;46(9):479-88. doi: 10.1016/j.arbres.2010.05.003. Epub 2010 Jun 30.
The population pyramid is changing due to the increasing longevity of the population, making it a priority to have better knowledge of those diseases that have an increasingly major impact in advanced age. Sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (SAHS) affects 15-20% of individuals over 65 years. However, despite this high prevalence and that one in four sleep studies are conducted on the elderly in this country and that more 60% of these were treated with CPAP, there are few specific studies in this age group on the diagnosis and management of this syndrome. The physiological increase of the number of sleep respiratory disorders with the passing of time may be the biggest obstacle when defining, diagnosing and treating SAHS in the elderly. In any case and while more solid scientific evidence is obtained, the National SAHS Consensus, as well as the Guidelines on the diagnosis and treatment of SAHS, recommend that, within logical limits, age itself should not be an obstacle to offering the elderly diagnostic help and treatment similar to that offered to the rest of the population.
由于人口寿命的延长，人口金字塔正在发生变化，因此，更深入了解那些在老年阶段影响日益重大的疾病成为当务之急。睡眠呼吸暂停低通气综合征（SAHS）影响着15%至20%的65岁以上人群。然而，尽管该病患病率很高，且在该国四分之一的睡眠研究是针对老年人进行的，其中超过60%的患者接受了持续气道正压通气（CPAP）治疗，但针对该年龄组中该综合征的诊断和管理的具体研究却很少。随着时间推移，睡眠呼吸障碍数量的生理性增加可能是在老年人中定义、诊断和治疗SAHS时的最大障碍。无论如何，在获得更确凿的科学证据之前，全国SAHS共识以及SAHS诊断和治疗指南建议，在合理范围内，年龄本身不应成为为老年人提供与其他人群相似的诊断帮助和治疗的障碍。
