Gender effects in obstructive sleepapnoea syndrome (OSAS)

Aim: To assess potential gender-related differences in the clinical presentation of a cohort of OSAS patients. Material and methods: 121 consecutive patients, diagnosed by means of ambulatory nocturnal cardiorespiratory monitoring for OSAS, were evaluated as for: neck and waist circumference, BMI and Mallampati Index, co-morbidities (hypertension, diabetes, dislipidemia, thyroid pathology), excessive daytime sleepiness(Epworth Sleepiness Scale), quality of life (SF-362v), depressive mood (Beck Depression Inventory), anxiety (Hamilton Anxiety Scale), quality of sleep (Pittsburgh Quality Index). Results: 32/121 patients were females, 23 in the postmenopausal, 9 in the pre-menopausal period; 89/121 males, significantly younger than females (p<0.02). Both genders presented non-severe EDS (p>0.5). Females had increased BMI and waist circumference than males (p<0.0001; p<0.05), whereas neck circumference was larger in males (p<0.002). Apnoea/hypopnoea Index was similar in both genders without any statistical significant difference (p>0.5). Males appeared percentagely more affected by hypertension and dislipidemia even if this difference did not reach statistical significance (p=0.07, p=1.0). Diabetes was significantly overrepresented in the female gender (p=0.0004), whereas thyroid disorders were most differently distributed across gender. On SF-362v women showed a worse quality of life than men (p<0.005); on BDI only women presented moderate mood disturbance (p<0.05). Conclusions: Our results suggest that both BMI and waist circumference values were less in males than in females. Moreover, females proved to be more affected by diabetes but had a similar rate of hypertension and dislipidemia when compared to males. Finally, women with OSAS had a worse quality of life and evidence of depressive mood in comparison with their male counterparts.