title: Age and severity matched comparison of gender differences in the prevalence of periodic limb movements during sleep in patients with obstructive sleep apnea.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to investigate gender differences of periodic limb movements during sleep (PLMS) in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a case-control study recruiting 364 patients with OSA (182 men, 182 women) matched for age and apnea-hypopnea index (AHI). All participants underwent overnight polysomnography (PSG), followed by the multiple sleep latency test (MSLT) and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Women with OSA had a significantly higher prevalence of PLMS than men (24.2 vs. 15.9 %, p < 0.05). Women with OSA showed an increased prevalence of PLMS compared to men in the younger group aged ≤55 years (23.0 vs. 10.6 %, p < 0.05), but not in the older groups >55 years (25.3 vs. 21.6 %, p > 0.05). Binary linear regression analysis in OSA patients confirmed that women were more likely to have PLMS than men (OR 1.71, 95 % CI 1.00-2.92), particularly in patients with age ≤55 years old (OR 2.48, 95 % CI 1.06-5.79), after adjusting for age, BMI, AHI, and habits of smoking and drinking.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results demonstrate that, for patients with OSA, young women had significantly increased prevalence of PLMS compared to young men, but there was no difference in prevalence of PLMS between the men and women in the older age group.
authors.affiliation: Sleep Medicine Center, Mental Health Center, Translational Neuroscience Center, Department of Otolaryngology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, 28 Dian Xin Nan Jie, Chengdu City, 610041, Sichuan Province, China.
authors.forename: Rong
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.affiliation: The Third Hospital of Mianyang, Mianyang, China.
authors.forename: Guoping
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
authors.forename: Jihui
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Sleep Medicine Center, Mental Health Center, Translational Neuroscience Center, Department of Otolaryngology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, 28 Dian Xin Nan Jie, Chengdu City, 610041, Sichuan Province, China.|Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
authors.forename: Junying
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Sleep Medicine Center, Mental Health Center, Translational Neuroscience Center, Department of Otolaryngology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, 28 Dian Xin Nan Jie, Chengdu City, 610041, Sichuan Province, China.
authors.forename: Yun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Sleep Medicine Center, Mental Health Center, Translational Neuroscience Center, Department of Otolaryngology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, 28 Dian Xin Nan Jie, Chengdu City, 610041, Sichuan Province, China.
authors.forename: Yuanfeng
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Sleep Medicine Center, Mental Health Center, Translational Neuroscience Center, Department of Otolaryngology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, 28 Dian Xin Nan Jie, Chengdu City, 610041, Sichuan Province, China.
authors.forename: Guangyao
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: National Institute on Drug Dependence, Peking University Sixth Hospital/Institute of Mental Health and Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Suxia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: National Institute on Drug Dependence, Peking University Sixth Hospital/Institute of Mental Health and Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
authors.forename: Yun-Kwok
authors.initials: YK
authors.lastname: Wing
authors.affiliation: Sleep Medicine Center, Mental Health Center, Translational Neuroscience Center, Department of Otolaryngology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, 28 Dian Xin Nan Jie, Chengdu City, 610041, Sichuan Province, China. xiangdong.tang@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Xiangdong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Tang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D015897:Comorbidity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D006970:Disorders of Excessive Somnolence / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020189:Nocturnal Myoclonus Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D017286:Polysomnography; D012737:Sex Factors; D020181:Sleep Apnea, Obstructive / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*
keywords: Age; Gender difference; Obstructive sleep apnea; Periodic limb movements; Prevalence