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. 2022 May 1;18(5):1263-1270.
doi: 10.5664/jcsm.9838.

Quality of life in upper airway resistance syndrome

Darwin Vizcarra-Escobar  1   2 , Kevin R Duque  1   3 , Fiorella Barbagelata-Agüero  1 , Joaquin A Vizcarra  4
Affiliations

Quality of life in upper airway resistance syndrome

Darwin Vizcarra-Escobar et al. J Clin Sleep Med. .

Abstract

Study objectives: To evaluate the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with upper airway respiratory syndrome (UARS) and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) compared to the general population (GP) in Lima, Peru, and to explore the variables associated with differences in HRQoL in patients with UARS.

Methods: This was a retrospective study of medical and polysomnography records from 2009-2014 in a referral sleep medicine center for patients aged 18-64 years. UARS was defined by polysomnography as follows: apnea-hypopnea index < 5 events/h, oxygen saturation ≥ 92%, respiratory effort-related arousal index ≥ 5. HRQoL was assessed using the 36-Item Short Form Survey (version 1) questionnaire validated in Peru. The GP HRQoL was obtained from a population-based survey. Linear and logistic regression analyses were conducted.

Results: We reviewed 1,329 polysomnograms and selected 888. UARS and OSA were diagnosed in 93 and 795 participants, respectively. The GP cohort consisted of 641 participants. Total HRQoL mean scores (95% confidence interval) in patients with UARS, patients with OSA, and the GP were 67.4 (63.7-71.1), 66.9 (65.4-68.4), and 82.9 (81.6-84.3), respectively. Patients with UARS and patients with OSA had a 5.5 times (95% confidence interval, 3.3-9.2) and 6.2 times (95% confidence interval, 4.6-8.4) greater probability of having a low total HRQoL score compared to patients in the GP, respectively. In patients with UARS, muscle pain, use of psychotropic medication, obesity, and depression were negatively correlated with the total HRQoL score.

Conclusions: The impact of OSA and UARS on HRQoL is similar between disease groups and markedly worse when compared to the impact in the GP. In patients with UARS, the presence of muscle pain, obesity, female sex, depression, and use of psychotropic medication negatively impacted HRQoL.

Citation: Vizcarra-Escobar D, Duque KR, Barbagelata-Agüero F, Vizcarra JA. Quality of life in upper airway resistance syndrome. J Clin Sleep Med. 2022;18(5):1263-1270.

Keywords: HRQoL; OSA; Peru; QoL; UARS; quality of life; sleep apnea syndromes.

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Conflict of interest statement

All authors have seen and approved the manuscript. The authors report no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Risk of low score in HRQoL in patients with UARS and patients with OSA compared to participants in the GP.
Odds ratios adjusted for age and sex. The city and socioeconomic status were the same for the GP data and UARS and OSA data. CI = confidence interval, GP = general population, HRQoL = health-related quality of life, OSA = obstructive sleep apnea, UARS = upper airway resistance syndrome.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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