[Obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome]

Abstract

Sleep apnoea syndrome is a frequent disease, occurring in men aged more than 30 years and in postmenopaused women. Its prevalence is more than 1% in men and between 0,3%-0,5% in women. It is an important public health problem. Diagnosis is made by polysomnography, which is considered as a gold standard, or by polygraphy. Sleep apnoea syndrome must be looked for by clinicians in presence of symptoms such as sleepiness, snoring, or behavioural problems, because these patients have a high risk not only of driving crashes, but also of arterial hypertension, brain strokes, and myocardial infarction, without treatment.