Department of Respiratory Diseases, University of Bari, 70124 Bari, Italy.
North West Lung Centre, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester M239LT, UK.
Medicina (Kaunas). 2020 Apr 25;56(5):208. doi: 10.3390/medicina56050208.
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a common disease that may affect up to 50% of the adult population and whose incidence continues to rise, as well as its health and socio-economic burden. OSA is a well-known risk factor for motor vehicles accidents and decline in work performance and it is frequently accompanied by cardiovascular diseases. The aim of this Special Issue is to focus on the characteristics of OSA in special populations which are less frequently investigated. In this regard, seven groups of experts in the field of sleep medicine gave their contribution in the realization of noteworthy manuscripts which will support all physicians in improving their understanding of OSA with the latest knowledge about its epidemiology, pathophysiology and comorbidities in special populations, which will serve as a basis for future research.
阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停（OSA）是一种常见疾病，可能影响多达 50%的成年人群，其发病率持续上升，同时也带来了健康和社会经济负担。OSA 是机动车事故和工作表现下降的已知危险因素，并且常伴有心血管疾病。本期特刊的目的是关注在睡眠医学领域不太常被研究的特殊人群中的 OSA 特征。在这方面，七组睡眠医学专家在实现值得注意的手稿方面做出了贡献，这些手稿将为所有医生提供支持，使他们能够利用有关特殊人群中 OSA 的最新流行病学、病理生理学和合并症的最新知识，来提高对 OSA 的认识，这将为未来的研究提供基础。
