Screening of Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome by Electronic-Nose Analysis of Volatile Organic Compounds.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome (OSAS) carries important social and economic implications. Once the suspicion of OSAS has arisen, Polysomnography (PSG) represents the diagnostic gold standard. However, about 45% of people who have undergone PSG are free from OSAS. Thus, efforts should be made to improve the selection of subjects. We verified whether the pattern of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) helps to select patients amenable to PSG. We studied 136 subjects (20 obese non-OSAS, 20 hypoxic OSAS, 20 non-hypoxic OSAS, and 20 non-hypoxic Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) vs 56 healthy controls) without any criteria of exclusion for comorbidity to deal with a real-life population. VOCs patterns were analyzed using electronic-nose (e-nose) technology. A Discriminant Analysis (Partial Least Square-Discriminant Analysis) was performed to predict respiratory functions and PSG parameters. E-nose distinguished controls (100% correct classification) from others and identified 60% of hypoxic, and 35% of non-hypoxic OSAS patients. Similarly, it identified 60% of COPD patients. One-by-one group comparison yielded optimal discrimination of OSAS vs controls and of COPD vs controls (100% correct classification). In conclusion, e-nose technology applied to breath-analysis can discriminate non-respiratory from respiratory diseased populations in real-life multimorbid populations and exclude OSAS. If confirmed, this evidence may become pivotal for screening purposes.

Self-Reported Masticatory Dysfunction and Mortality in Community Dwelling Elderly Adults: A 9-Year Follow-Up.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the association, if any, between masticatory dysfunction (MD) and mortality in older adults. DESIGN: The Invecchiare in Chianti (InCHIANTI) Study, a cohort study with 9-year follow-up. SETTING: Tuscany, Italy. PARTICIPANTS: Individuals aged 65 and older (N = 1,155). MEASUREMENTS: MD was self-reported; Cox regression was used to assess the association between self-reported MD and 9-year all-cause mortality. This association was also evaluated after stratifying according to use of dentures. Analyses were adjusted for potential confounders, including demographic characteristics, lifestyle habits, comorbidities, nutrient intake, medications, and objective parameters. RESULTS: Four hundred five (35%) participants reported MD. Over the 9-year follow-up, 475 (41%) subjects died. According to Cox regression analysis, self-reported MD was associated with higher mortality (relative risk (RR) = 1.23, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.02-1.48), after adjusting for potential confounders. In participants with self-reported MD, uncorrected edentulism was the condition associated with the greatest risk of mortality (RR = 2.10, 95% CI = 1.07-4.14); use of dentures seemed to blunt this association (RR = 1.12, 95% CI = 0.87-1.44). CONCLUSION: Self-reported MD, chiefly when due to uncorrected edentulism, is associated with 9-year all-cause mortality in community-dwelling elderly adults. Further studies are needed to evaluate whether the timely correction of MD using adequate dentures can increase the survival of older adults.

Bone Mineral Density and Cognitive Decline in Elderly Women: Results from the InCHIANTI Study.

Osteoporosis and cognitive impairment, which are highly prevalent conditions in elderly populations, share several risk factors. This study aims at evaluating the association of bone mineral density (BMD) with prevalent and incident cognitive impairment after a 3-year follow-up. We studied 655 community-dwelling women aged 65+ participating in the InCHIANTI study, who had been followed for 3 years. Total, trabecular, and cortical BMD were estimated by peripheral quantitative computed tomography using standard transverse scans at 4 and 38 % of the tibial length. Cognitive performance was evaluated using the Mini-Mental State Examination and the Trail Making Tests (TMT) A and B; a MMSE score <24 was adopted to define cognitive impairment. The TMT A-B score was calculated as the difference between TMT-A and TMT-B times (ΔTMT). The association of cognitive performance after 3 years with baseline indices of BMD was assessed by logistic and linear regression analyses. Cortical, but not trabecular, BMD was independently associated with incident cognitive impairment (OR 0.93, 95 % CI 0.88-0.98; P = 0.012), worsening cognitive performance (OR 0.96, 95 % CI 0.92-0.98; P = 0.039), and worsening performance in ΔTMT (OR 0.96, 95 % CI 0.92-0.99; P = 0.047). Increasing cortical BMD tertiles was associated with decreasing probability of incident cognitive impairment (P for linear trend =0.001), worsening cognitive performance (P = 0.013), and a worsening performance below the median value (P for linear trend <0.0001). In older women, low BMD might represent an independent and early marker of subsequent cognitive impairment. Physicians should assess and monitor cognitive performance in the routine management of elderly women with osteoporosis.