title: Sleep-disordered breathing and upper airway size in pregnancy and post-partum.
abstract: Sleep-disordered breathing and snoring are common in pregnancy. The aim of this study was to determine whether pregnancy was associated with upper airway narrowing. One-hundred females in the third trimester of pregnancy were recruited and 50 agreed to be restudied 3 months after delivery. One-hundred nonpregnant females were also recruited. Upper airway dimensions were measured using acoustic reflection. Snoring was less common in nonpregnant (17%) than pregnant females (41%; odds ratio (OR) 3.34; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.65-6.74) and returned to nonpregnant levels after delivery (18%; OR 0.15; 95% CI 0.06-0.40). Pregnant females had significantly smaller upper airways than nonpregnant females at the oropharyngeal junction when seated (mean difference 0.12; 95% CI 0.008-0.25), and smaller mean pharyngeal areas in the seated (mean difference 0.14; 95% CI 0.001-0.28), supine (mean difference 0.11; 95% CI 0.01-0.22) and lateral postures (mean difference 0.13; 95% CI 0.02-0.24) compared with the nonpregnant females. Pregnant females had smaller mean pharyngeal areas compared with post-partum in the seated (mean difference 0.18; 95% CI 0.02-0.32), supine (mean difference 0.20; 95% CI 0.06-0.35) and lateral postures (mean difference 0.26; 95% CI 0.12-0.39). In conclusion, this study confirmed increased snoring and showed narrower upper airways during the third trimester of pregnancy.
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Sleep Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Scotland, UK.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Izci
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vennelle
authors.forename: W A
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Liston
authors.forename: K C
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Dundas
authors.forename: A A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Calder
authors.forename: N J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Douglas
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000403:Airway Resistance; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D049590:Postpartum Period; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011263:Pregnancy Trimester, Third; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012891:Sleep Apnea Syndromes / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012913:Snoring / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires