EFFECTS OF AGE ON SLEEP-APNEA IN MEN-I - PREVALENCE AND SEVERITY

The effects of age on the prevalence of sleep apnea in the general pop ulation remain unclear, because previous studies have focused on speci fic populations. The effects of age on the severity of apnea are unkno wn. This study was based on a two-stage general random sample of men ( aged 20 to 100 yr), consisting of a telephone survey (n = 4,364) and a sleep laboratory evaluation of a survey subsample (n = 741). Obstruct ive sleep apnea (OSA), based on both sleep laboratory and clinical cri teria (apnea/hypopnea index [AHI] greater than or equal to 10 and the presence of daytime symptoms) was found in 3.3% of the sample, with it s maximum prevalence in the middle age group (45 to 64 yr). Also, base d solely on laboratory criteria, the prevalence of OSA (obstructive AH I greater than or equal to 20) showed an age distribution similar to t hat of OSA diagnosed by laboratory and clinical criteria. The prevalen ce of any type of sleep apnea (central and obstructive) increased mono tonically with age. However, central apnea appeared to account for thi s monotonic relationship with age. Severity of sleep apnea, as indicat ed by both number of events and minimum oxygen saturation, decreased w ith age when any sleep apnea criteria were used and when controlling f or body mass index (BMI). The study shows that the prevalence of sleep apnea tends to increase with age but that the clinical significance ( severity) of apnea decreases. On the basis of these findings, the slee p laboratory criteria used for diagnosis of sleep apnea should be adju sted for age.