Purpose: Patients with chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) often have sleep impairments, and this issue is closely related to obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). However, research using objective examinations to evaluate sleep quality in inpatients with CRS is lacking. This study aimed to explore the sleeping characteristics of CRS without nasal polyps (CRSsNP) when comorbid with OSA using polysomnography (PSG).
Methods: For this cross-sectional, single-center study, we recruited 147 adult male inpatients diagnosed with CRSsNP between March 2019 and April 2020. OSA was diagnosed using standard PSG. The patients were classified into two groups according to their apnea–hypopnea index value: CRSsNP with OSA and CRSsNP without OSA. Demographic features and sleep parameters were evaluated and compared between the groups.
Results: Inpatients with CRSsNP had a high risk of OSA (61.2%). The CRSsNP with OSA group had a higher prevalence of obesity, slept for less time, and were more easily aroused during sleep ( P < 0.001, P = 0.002, and P = 0.001, respectively) than the CRSsNP without OSA group. Logistic regression analysis revealed that patients with CRSsNP and comorbid OSA had a higher risk of microarousal, with an odds ratio (OR) of 1.037 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.007–1.068). This association remained significant, even after adjusting for age and body mass index (OR: 1.037, 95% CI: 1.002–1.074; P = 0.036).
Conclusions: Patients with CRSsNP had poor sleep quality and a high risk of OSA. An exaggerated sleeping discontinuity exists in patients with CRSsNP.