ObjectivePolygraphy (PG) is an attractive alternative for diagnosing obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in patients with high pre-test probability. However, several patients may not present typical symptoms. In this scenario, it is unclear the performance of PG for diagnosing OSA in non-referred populations to sleep laboratories.MethodsData from participants of the ELSA-Brasil cohort were used for this analysis. We performed an overnight home PG (Embletta GoldTM) synchronized with a wrist actigraphy (Actiwatch model 2TM). The validation strategy comprised three scorings from each participant: 1) Original scoring (PG): Routine scoring using data from the exclamation button mark to define “analysis start” and “analysis stop”; 2) Scoring using actigraphy data (PG+actigraphy): total sleep time defined by the actigraphy data; 3) Scoring using diaries (PG+diary): “analysis start” and “analysis stop” based on the diaries. Bland-Altman plots were generated to assess the agreements (Kappa) between each scoring strategy.ResultsA total of 300 participants were included in the final analysis (45% males, mean age: 48±8 years). The frequency of OSA using the PG score was 27.3%. Despite small differences in the OSA severity index, we obtained a high concordance of AHI comparing the PG vs. PG+actigraphy (Kappa: 0.95) as well as PG+diary vs. PG+actigraphy (Kappa: 0.96). No significant changes in the OSA classification (mild, moderate and severe) were observed in the 3 protocols.ConclusionUsing a pragmatic approach to address OSA at home, our results suggest that PG is a useful tool for OSA diagnosis even in subjects not referred to sleep studies.
Objective:
To elucidate the independent associations of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and sleep duration (SD) as well as the potential inflammatory and metabolic mediators on carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) in a large cohort of adults.
Approach and Results:
Consecutive participants from the ELSA-Brasil performed a clinical evaluation, sleep study, 1-week actigraphy for defining SD and CIMT using standard techniques. Gamma regression models were used to explore the association between OSA and SD with CIMT. Mediation analysis was performed using the mediation R package. A total of 2009 participants were included in the main analysis. As compared with no OSA (apnea-hypopnea index [AHI] <5 events/hour; n=613), patients with mild (AHI, 5–14.9; n=741), moderate (AHI, 15–29.9; n=389), and severe OSA (AHI ≥30 events/hour; n=266) presented a progressive CIMT increase (0.690 [0.610–0.790], 0.760 [0.650–0.890], 0.810 [0.700–0.940], and 0.820 [0.720–0.958] mm;
P
<0.001). In contrast, CIMTs were similar for those with SD <6 hours (0.760 [0.650–0.888]), 6 to 8 hours (0.750 [0.640–0.880]) and >8 hours (0.740 [0.670–0.900]). All forms of OSA were independently associated with CIMT (mild: β: 0.019, SE 0.008;
P
=0.022; moderate: β: 0.025, SE 0.011;
P
=0.022; severe OSA: β: 0.040, SE 0.013;
P
=0.002). Moreover, the association of AHI with CIMT was mediated by increased C-reactive protein and triglycerides (
P
<0.01). SD did not interact with OSA in the association with CIMT.
Conclusions:
OSA is independently associated with increased CIMT in a dose-response relationship. This association is partially mediated by inflammation and dyslipidemia. In contrast, SD is not associated nor interacted with OSA to increase CIMT.
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