The effects of body position on the distribution of obstructive, mixed and central sleep apnoea

Abstract

Background. Obstructive sleep apnoea is commonly aggravated by the supine body position. The impact of body position on the severity of mixed and central sleep apnoeas is understudied. Objectives. To evaluate the impact of body position on obstructive, mixed and central apnoea indices in subjects presenting with this triform of sleep apnoea during a single polysomnogram. Methods. We retrospectively analysed 26 polysomnograms where obstructive, mixed and central apnoeas each occurred at a rate >5/hr. Comparisons between lateral and supine body positions were made for obstructive apnoea index (OAI), mixed apnoea index (MAI), central apnoea index (CAI), apnoea-hypopnoea index (AHI) and obstructive apnoea-hypopnoea index (OAHI). Results. Mean (SD) apnoea indices were significantly lower in lateral v. supine positions, respectively:

Diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnoea

“…The differing clinical features and responses to treatment suggest that as much diagnostic information as possible be obtained and thus that full polysomnography be performed. In this issue of the AJTCCM, van der Colff et al [7] is a useful demonstration of the information that can be obtained from such investigations. As the study of symptom subtypes suggests, obstructive sleep apnoea is not a homogeneous condition and detailed analysis of events in sleep related to position and sleep stage is very important in understanding mechanisms and pathophysiological phenomena contributing to clinical presentations and responses to interventions.…”