Vol.99 No.2 contentsPRACTICA OTO-RHINO-LARYNGOLOGICA
Vol. 99 No. 2 February 2006
Clinical Investigation of Obstructive Sleep
Apnea Syndrome in Female Patients
Kikuo Sakamoto, Atsushi Kikuchi, Youko Takane and Tadashi Nakashima
(Kurume University School of Medicine)
Few papers have addressed gender differences in sleep apnea syndrome (SAS). We investigated the relation between SAS and gender. Five hundred and eighteen patients underwent polysomnography (PSG) at Kurume University Hospital between May 2002 and April 2004. In 386 patients (319 male, 67 female, average age of 50 years old) who fulfilled the criteria of SAS (apnea-hypopnea index〈AHI〉≧5), age, body mass index (BMI), AHI, abnormality of maxillo-facial form (maxilla, mandibular retrusion) and tonsil hypertrophy were examined. The AHI of males was higher than that of females (p＝0.0553), but there was no difference in BMI. In regard to the maxillo-facial form and tonsil hypertrophy, abnormal findings were found in male patients, but there was no difference in mandibular retrusion. Forty-seven (70.1％) of the 67 female patients were in postmenopause. When data were compared between females in premenopause and postmenopause, BMI and AHI were significantly higher in premenopausal patients. In regard to the mandibular-facial form, postmenopausal females showed abnormality. On the other hand, tonsil hypertrophy was predominantly found in premenopausal females. In comparison to the number of SAS cases in male and female patients, there were fewer mandibular-facial form abnormalities in females. Therefore, the diagnosis of SAS in females is rather difficult unless PSG is done. In postmenopausal females, AHI was relatively high despite the fact that they were not obese. These results suggest that functional rather than qualitative changes are important for understanding the characteristics of SAS in postmenopausal females.
Key words : obstructive sleep apnea syndrome,
AHI, BMI, maxillo-facial form, tonsil hypertrophy