Upper airway symptoms in primary snoring and in sleep apnea.
CONCLUSIONS
Upper airway symptoms were common in subjects referred for sleep study. In particular, nasal stuffiness and airway dryness already seemed to bother snorers before development of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS). Mouth dryness increased with severity of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).


OBJECTIVE
Upper airway symptoms are common in patients with OSAS. However, prevalence of these symptoms is unknown in primary snoring and mild OSA. We evaluated frequency of upper airway symptoms in a large group of patients referred for diagnostic sleep studies.


METHODS
We examined 524 consecutive subjects (69% men, mean ± SD age 51 ± 12 years, apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) 15 ± 21, body mass index 31 ± 6) by a questionnaire-based survey. The subjects filled in a questionnaire enquiring about current upper airway symptoms and history of nasal and pharyngeal disorders before the sleep study.


RESULTS
Frequent upper airway symptoms among study subjects were common: 56% of the patients reported throat dryness, 55% mouth dryness, 54% nasal stuffiness, 52% nose dryness, 33% sneezing, 33% postnasal drip, and 24% rhinorrhea. The patients with moderate or severe OSAS (AHI ≥15 and Epworth sleepiness score ≥10) suffered from mouth dryness more often (71% vs 40%, p < 0.01) than those with mild or no OSAS.
Division of Pulmonary Diseases, Department of Medicine, Helsinki University Central Hospital, Finland. hanna-riikka.kreivi@hus.fi
Hanna-Riikka
HR
Kreivi
Paula
P
Virkkula
Juho T
JT
Lehto
Pirkko E
PE
Brander
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015992:Body Mass Index; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland / Q000453:epidemiology; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015508:Nasal Obstruction / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D017286:Polysomnography; D015995:Prevalence; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012220:Rhinitis / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012891:Sleep Apnea Syndromes / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D012913:Snoring / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult