[Significance of apnea hypopnea time index in obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome patients and possible correlation between polysomnographic parameters and severity of the disease].
OBJECTIVE
To find out the polysomnography (PSG) indexes that reflex the degree of pathology of obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS).


METHODS
Six hundred and twenty-one male OSAHS patients, aged over 21, underwent measurement of weight, height, and neck circumference. Polysomnography was conducted to detect the apnea and hypopnea index (AHI), apnea and hypopnea time (AHT), and apnea and hypopnea time index (AHTI). A questionnaire survey based on Epworth sleep scaling (ESS) was conducted among 392 patients to assess the symptoms, such as excessive daytime sleepiness. 324 patients with an AHTI of 68.4 +/- 17.16 events/hour were regarded as severe group, and those with an AHTI >or= 7 events/hr were regarded as very severer group. The relationship among clinical characteristics and polysomnographic parameters were analyzed.


RESULTS
The AHI, AHTI, and lowest SaO(2) of the patients were significantly correlated with the ESS7 scores, morning mouth dryness, daytime fatigue (all P < 0.01), and significantly correlated with sour regurgitation, and heartburn, (all P < 0.05). AHTI was significantly correlated (r = 0.317), morning mouth dryness (r = 0.239); and sour regurgitation, and heartburn (r = 0.137). AHT was significantly correlated (r = 0.344), morning mouth dryness (r = 0.261); and sour regurgitation, and heartburn (r = 0.138). Very significant differences existed in morning mouth dryness, sour regurgitation and heartburn, and ESS7 scores between the severe and very severe patients (all P < 0.01).


CONCLUSIONS
Among the PSG indexes, AHTI is better associated with sleepiness and other clinical symptoms than AHI. In severe OSAHS patients, there are significant differences in their clinical symptoms between the AHI < 70 events/hr group and AHI >or= 70 events/hr group.
Ye
Jing-ying
JY
Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Beijing Tongren Hospital Affiliated to Capital University of Medical Sciences, Beijing 100730, China. yejingying@yeah.net
Li
Yan-ru
YR
Wang
Xiao-yi
XY
Kou
Yi
Y
Zhang
Yu-huan
YH
Ding
Xiu
X
Yin
Guo-ping
GP
Li
Hong-bin
HB
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017286:Polysomnography; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D020181:Sleep Apnea, Obstructive / Q000145:classification* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires