The prevalence of and risk factors for sleep-disordered breathing in an elderly Korean population.
BACKGROUND
There are just a few epidemiological studies on sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) in the elderly, and the results are inconsistent.


OBJECTIVE
We sought to investigate the prevalence of and risk factors for SDB in a representative elderly population with the use of attended nocturnal polysomnography (NPSG).


METHODS
Among 6,959 individuals aged ≥ 60 years living in Yongin City, Korea, 696 subjects were selected using random sampling. All the subjects were invited to visit a hospital for NPSG, and SDB was defined as an apnea-hypopnea index ≥ 15.


RESULTS
Of the 696 participants investigated, 348 participants completed the sleep study and clinical evaluation. SDB was observed in 127 of the 348 participants, and the prevalence of SDB was 36.5% (52.6% in males and 26.3% in females). A body mass index ≥ 25 was associated with SDB in both male and female subjects, particularly in males, whereas snoring was independently associated with SDB in female participants only. In male participants, SDB was a significant risk factor for hypertension (p = 0.025).


CONCLUSIONS
SDB was found to be common among elderly Koreans, and it was more prevalent and severe in male than in female subjects. Health consequences of SDB in the elderly need to be further explored.
Department of Neuropsychiatry, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, Republic of Korea.
Sang Don
SD
Lee
Suk-Hoon
SH
Kang
Gawon
G
Ju
Ji Won
JW
Han
Tae Hui
TH
Kim
Chung Suk
CS
Lee
Tae
T
Kim
Ki Woong
KW
Kim
In-Young
IY
Yoon
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015992:Body Mass Index; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D050177:Overweight / Q000453:epidemiology*; D017286:Polysomnography; D015995:Prevalence; D056910:Republic of Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012891:Sleep Apnea Syndromes / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012913:Snoring / Q000453:epidemiology*