Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome and Sleep Efficiency in Patients with Ankylosing Spondylitis
Erdal İN1, Teyfik TURGUT1, Arif GÜLKESEN2, Barış GÜNDOĞDU3
1Department of Chest Diseases, Medical Faculty of Fırat University, Elazığ, Turkey
2Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Medical Faculty of Fırat University, Elazığ, Turkey
3Department of Rheumatology, Medical Faculty of Fırat University, Elazığ, Turkey
Keywords: Ankylosing spondylitis, obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, polysomnography, sleep efficiency
Abstract
Objectives: This study aims to determine the prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) and assess sleep efficiency in patients with ankylosing spondylitis.
Patients and methods: A total of 42 patients (36 males, 6 females; mean age 39.4±9.1 years; range 23 to 63 years) with ankylosing spondylitis were included in this study. Demographic data, spinal mobility measurements, disease activity measurements, and sleep questionnaire results were recorded for each patient. All subjects underwent an overnight polysomnography test and their sleep records were evaluated.
Results: Polysomnography test revealed OSAS in 13 (30.9%) patients. Patients with OSAS had a significantly greater occiput-to-wall distance and neck circumference (p=0.025 and p=0.004, respectively). In addition, there was a positive correlation between apnea hypopnea index and occiput- to-wall distance and neck circumference (r=0.355, p=0.021; r=0.413, p=0.007, respectively) whereas apnea hypopnea index and body mass index did not significantly correlate.
Conclusion: Our study showed that patients with ankylosing spondylitis had higher OSAS prevalence than reported in the general population. Furthermore, OSAS prevalence accordingly increased with the severity of cervical vertebral involvement.
The authors declared no conflicts of interest with respect to the authorship and/or publication of this article.
The authors received no financial support for the research and/or authorship of this article.