Obstructive sleep apnea in young Asian adults with sleep-related complaints

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a common, age-dependent sleep disorder distinguished by upper airway obstruction, resulting in breathing pause, intermittent desaturation, and frequent arousals during sleep. Patients with OSA are at risk for a variety of other health problems and diseases such as hypertension, insulin resistance, cognitive impairment, cardiovascular disease, and accelerated aging. For this specific study, the researchers focused on collecting data from young adult individuals with OSA in Taiwan. They aimed to study the number of young OSA adults with sleep-related complaints in a sleep center for over a decade.

Chiu and colleagues (2022) proceeded to analyze 371 young patients with OSA among 2378 patients receiving PSG in the Center of Sleep Medicine in Taipei Veterans General Hospital located in Taipei, Taiwan. Whole night PSG reports of patients from 2000 to 2017 were used to analyze and calculate the percentage of individuals who received PSG for sleep problems. In addition, treatment naïve adults participated in the study and received PSG in the sleep center between 2016 and 2017. This data was used to compare the characteristics in different age groups, as OSA is an age-dependent disorder. The three age strata consisted of the following: The young adult group (20–40 years old), the Middle-aged adult group (41–60 years old), and the Older adult group(> 60 years old).

The researchers found that individuals in the young adult group accounted for a substantial number (19.8% ± 2.4%) of patients with OSA. They were more obese, sleepier, and had a higher percentage of alcohol consumption in comparison to the individuals in the other age groups. Additionally, the data showed that hypertension confers a higher risk of OSA for young adults, especially males, even though the younger adult group had fewer comorbid disease rates. Lastly, a little more than 70% of the individuals in the young adult group showed signs of moderate to severe OSA. Due to this, aggressive treatment is generally recommended more for this age group of individuals.

References:

Chiu, HY., Chou, KT., Su, KC. et al. Obstructive sleep apnea in young Asian adults with sleep-related complaints. Sci Rep 12, 20582 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-25183-5