Comparison of positional and rapid eye movement-dependent sleep apnea syndromes.

AIM

We aimed to compare the clinical, epidemiological, and polysomnographic features of rapid eye movement (REM)-dependent obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) and positional OSAS which are two separate clinical entities.

METHODS

Between January 2014 and December 2015, at the Akdeniz University Medical Faculty Hospital, patients who were diagnosed REM-dependent and positional OSAS with polysomnography were retrospectively studied.

RESULTS

In this study, 1727 patients were screened consecutively. Five hundred and eighty-four patients were included in the study. Of the patients, 24.6% (140) were diagnosed with REM-dependent OSAS and 75.4% (444) were diagnosed as positional OSAS. Female predominance was found in REM-dependent OSAS ( < 0.001). The mean total apnea-hypopnea index (AHI), non-REM AHI, and supine AHI in REM-dependent OSAS were 14.73, 9.24, and 17.73, respectively, and these values were significantly lower when compared with positional OSAS ( < 0.001). Patients diagnosed with REM-dependent OSAS had a statistically significant tendency to be overweight ( < 0.001). For REM-dependent OSAS, total pulse rate, supine pulse rate, and REM pulse rate were statistically higher than positional OSAS ( < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Positional OSAS is a clinical entity that is more common than REM-dependent OSAS. OSAS severity is higher in positional OSAS than REM-dependent OSAS. REM-dependent OSAS is observed more commonly in women.