The high dependency of supine position in obstructive sleep apnea.

OBJECTIVE

To define the frequency of supine positional obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in patients diagnosed with OSA and to describe the demographic associations with positional OSA (PO).

METHODS

A retrospective study was performed in a total of 3813 patients who underwent full-night polysomnography at the Sleep Disorders Center of the Ataturk Chest Diseases, Thoracic Surgery Education and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey between June 2007 and June 2010. A total of 3214 patients diagnosed with OSA were included in the study. Positional OSA was defined as a total AHI more than or equal to 5, and supine AHI/non-supine AHI more than or equal to 2. Characteristics of positional OSA and non-positional OSA groups were compared statistically.

RESULTS

Patients classified as positional OSA composed 39.9% of all OSA patients. Positional OSA patients were younger with lower body mass index and their OSA was less severe.

CONCLUSION

Positional OSA, which may require different treatment approaches, is not uncommon among OSA patients and should be understood as a different clinical entity.