五分之一的成年人患有严重打鼾

根据最近发表在 开放研究 ERJ据估计，多达五分之一的人可能患有阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停 (OSA)。

患有阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停的人通常会出现鼾声大、整夜呼吸急促和频繁醒来等症状。 除了导致疲劳之外，阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停 (OSA) 还可能增加出现严重健康问题的风险，包括高血压、中风、心脏病和 2 型糖尿病。

治疗和生活方式的改变可以帮助阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停患者。 然而，这项新研究还指出，只有一小部分有阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停症状的人被诊断出患有这种疾病并接受治疗。

该研究包含 20,151 名法国成年人的数据。 研究人员记录了被诊断患有阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停的参与者人数。 他们还使用调查问卷来测量可能患有未确诊的 OSA 的参与者人数。 调查问卷重点关注严重打鼾、白天过度嗜睡（阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停最常见的症状）、高血压和肥胖。

研究人员随后利用这些数据计算出可能受到 OSA 影响的法国人口比例。 他们发现，大约五分之一（20.2%）的人可能患有阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停，而只有 3.5% 的人正在接受治疗。

OSA 在老年男性中更为常见[{” attribute=””>cardiovascular disease, lower socioeconomic status, or were less physically active, in smokers, and in people with symptoms of depression. Women were at a higher risk of going undiagnosed with OSA.

The study was led by Dr. Pauline Balagny from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Paris-Cité, France. She said: “We know that OSA is a major health hazard but if patients are diagnosed with the condition, they can be given treatments and advice to mitigate the risks. Our study suggests that OSA is common, but the majority of those affected do not know they have the condition.

“Our findings are in line with research in other countries which suggest that OSA is becoming more common.”

A key strength of this research is that it is based on a large group of people who are representative of the French population. A weakness is that the study relies on a questionnaire to gauge the likelihood of OSA, rather than testing participants in a sleep clinic.

Professor Winfried Randerath, Head of the European Respiratory Society’s Assembly on sleep-disordered breathing, who was not involved in the research said: “This research suggests that many people with OSA are not aware that their snoring and sleepiness are signs of a problem. We need to raise awareness of OSA because once people are diagnosed, they can be given treatment and advice to help lower their risk of other serious conditions such as stroke, heart disease, and diabetes. Although OSA is more common in men, this study indicates that we also need to get better at spotting the condition in women.”

Dr. Balagny and her colleagues will continue to study the links between OSA symptoms and cardiovascular diseases. They are also investigating whether screening for OSA could help heart attack patients.

Reference: “Prevalence, treatment and determinants of obstructive sleep apnoea and its symptoms in a population-based French cohort” by Pauline Balagny, Emmanuelle Vidal-Petiot, Adeline Renuy, Joane Matta, Justine Frija-Masson, Philippe Gabriel Steg, Marcel Goldberg, Marie Zins, Marie-Pia d’Ortho and Emmanuel Wiernik, 10 May 2023, ERJ Open Research.
DOI: 10.1183/23120541.00053-2023

The study was funded by Recherche Hospitalo-Universitaire iVASC.