Effect of oral appliance treatment on age-related changes of sleep respiratory function in patients with obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome / 中华耳鼻咽喉头颈外科杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective@#The severity of obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) has a tendency to increase with age. The purpose of this study was to explore whether oral appliance (OA) treatment can block this age-related change.@*Methods@#This study was a retrospective study. Fifteen patients (12 males,3 females) of OSAHS treated with OA were selected as treatment group,with an average age of (47.44±10.00) years and initial body mass index (BMI) of (26.31±3.33) kg/m2. The follow-up length was 54 [22, 100] months. Nineteen patients (13 males,6 females) with untreated OSAHS served as controls, with an average age of (45.00±9.26) years and initial BMI of (25.53±2.58) kg/m2,and the follow-up length was 35 [26,63] months. There were no significant differences in terms of gender,age,initial BMI, apnea hypopnea index(AHI), and follow-up length between the two groups. Polysomnography(PSG) data for the two groups were compared to observe the sleep respiratory function changes as aging by Wilcoxon test.@*Results@#There was no significant difference in BMI of the treatment group and the control group at the time of follow-up, with BMI of treatment group from (26.31±3.33) kg/m2 to (25.67±3.65) kg/m2,Z=-1.223,P=0.221; and BMI of control group from (25.53±2.58) kg/m2 to (25.12±2.72) kg/m2,Z=-1.193,P=0.233. There was no significant difference in the change of AHI within the treatment group, from 26.20 [11.50, 52.98]/h to 23.10 [16.00, 45.00]/h, Z=-0.284, P=0.776; AHI in the control group was higher than that at the first visit, and the AHI increased from 15.00 [10.72, 28.90]/h to 31.10 [13.00, 41.80]/h, Z=-3.481, P<0.001. The longest apnea duration was not statistically different in the treatment group, from 60.00 [56.40, 74.00] s to 63.00 [52.00, 77.00] s, Z=-0.345, P=0.730; the longest apnea duration in the control group increased from 42.00 [34.00, 56.70] s to 46.00 [37.00,62.00] s,Z=-2.274,P=0.023. There was no significant difference in the lowest blood oxygen saturation of the treatment group and the control group, with the treatment group from 72.47%±12.69% to 72.73%±17.59%, Z=-0.597, P=0.550; and the control group from 78.21%±9.30% to 76.42%±12.17%, Z=-0.153, P=0.879.@*Conclusion@#Symptoms of sleep apnea in OSAHS patients tend to increase with age,and oral appliance treatment may have the effect of slowing down this age-related worsening effect.