Open AccessSleep Apnoea Syndrome as a Risk for Mortality in Elderly Inpatients
Author(s) -
Shigeto Morimoto,
Takashi Takahashi,
Kohya Okaishi,
Masashi Okuro,
Takeshi Nakahashi,
Daisuke Sakamoto,
T. Mizuno,
Tsugiyasu Kanda,
Mitsuru Takahashi,
Hirohisa Toga
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
journal of international medical research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.421
H-Index - 57
eISSN - 1473-2300
pISSN - 0300-0605
DOI - 10.1177/147323001204000222
Subject(s) - medicine , pneumonia , polysomnography , population , body mass index , pediatrics , apnea , environmental health
OBJECTIVE: The characteristics of sleep apnoea syndrome (SAS) in the elderly, including subtype classification and association with mortality, have not been fully elucidated. This study examined these factors in an elderly Japanese inpatient population. METHODS: Overnight polysomnography was used to diagnose and classify SAS in 145 elderly inpatients (mean ± age 81 ± 8 years). Clinical data, including brain computerized tomography findings, were recorded. The study population included nine inpatients with obstructive SAS, 12 with central SAS, 25 with mixed SAS and 99 controls (no SAS). RESULTS: Increased body mass index and grade of aortic arch calcification independently contributed to risk of all subtypes of SAS combined. There was an independent association between SAS and increased risk of mortality from all causes as well as from pneumonia and from cardiovascular disease. Only mixed SAS was independently and positively associated with increased risk of death from pneumonia. CONCLUSIONS: Obstructive, central and mixed SAS were associated with increased risk of cardiovascular-related and all-cause mortality. Mixed SAS was associated with an increase in mortality from pneumonia. There was no relationship between mortality and severity of SAS.