Prevalence of obstructive sleep apnoea in a sample of obese women: effect of menopause.
BACKGROUND
Obesity is a well known risk factor for obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). Previous studies have investigated the prevalence of OSA among obese people, but a sample of women was rarely studied.


OBJECTIVE
To describe the anthropometric and polysomnographic characteristics of a sample of obese women and investigate the effect of menopause on the prevalence of OSA.


METHODS
Using a full-night polysomnography we studied a sample of 133 obese women with a body mass index (BMI) > or = 30 kg/m2.


RESULTS
About 44% of our sample had a respiratory disturbance index (RDI) > or = 10. Neck circumference, BMI and age resulted the strongest predictors of RDI value. We also found that the prevalence of OSA was higher among post-menopausal women (67%) in comparison with pre-menopausal women (31%). Moreover, post-menopausal women had larger neck circumference and higher waist-to-hip circumference ratio (WHR).


CONCLUSIONS
Among post-menopausal obese women the prevalence of OSA increases. We suggest that menopause could cause a different body fat distribution with an increase of fat in upper parts of the body and, consequently, with an increase of neck circumference.
Resta
O
O
Department of Clinical Methodology and Medical-Surgery Technology, University of Bari, Italy.
Bonfitto
P
P
Sabato
R
R
De Pergola
G
G
Barbaro
M P Foschino
MP
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000886:Anthropometry; D050218:Body Fat Distribution; D015992:Body Mass Index; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008593:Menopause / Q000502:physiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009333:Neck / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications*; D017286:Polysomnography; D017697:Premenopause; D015995:Prevalence; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012119:Respiration; D020181:Sleep Apnea, Obstructive / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D013147:Spirometry; D049629:Waist-Hip Ratio