Abstract :
Aim of the study: To assess if the neck circumference (NC) can be used to predict the presence and the severity of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSA) in a group of patients had snoring and witnessed apnea from Almoosa Hospital, Alhasa, Saudi Arabia.
Materials and Methods: A retrospective study for patients had snoring and witnessed apnea referred to a sleep lab for the diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) by overnight full polysomnogram from August 2016 to August 2020. Apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) was used to categorize the severity of sleep apnea. Age, sex, neck circumference (NC) body mass index (BMI), comorbidities, and sleep parameters were recorded. Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to assess the ability of NC for the diagnosis of the OSA. Sensitivity and specificity were calculated for different cut-off points.
Results: The study included 450 patients who met the inclusion criteria with a mean age 52.5 14.6. The mean NC (cm), and BMI were 39.4 3.1, and 35.2 9.0, respectively. OSA was diagnosed in 378 (84.0%) patients. OSA was more detected among males, those with an increased age, NC, BMI, and among patients had hypertension and type 2 diabetes. The mean BMI was significantly higher among females (p=0.031) while NC was significantly higher among males. Significant positive correlations were detected between both NC and BMI with the severity of OSA.
Conclusion: Neck circumference can be used to predict the presence as well as the severity of obstructive sleep apnea in snoring patients. BMI, and male gender are independent predictors.
Keyword :
Snoring, Neck circumference, Body mass index, Obstructive sleep apnea.