Objective  To investigate the differences in clinical characteristics and polysomnographic characteristics between the elderly obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome ( OSAHS) patients and the young and middle-aged OSAHS patients.
Methods  The clinical manifestations and the polysomnographic characteristics of 37 elderly OSAHS patients and 294 young and middle-aged patients were analyzed. The differences in polysomnographic indicators between two groups were compared according to the body mass index.
Results  The nocturia frequency in the elderly OSAHS patients was higher( P =0. 01) ,however, the othert clinical manifestations between the elderly group and the young and middle-aged group were not different significantly. The elderly group had a lower body mass index ( P  =0. 018) , a smaller neck circumference ( P =0. 003) , and a larger chance of diabetes ( P = 0. 001) and hypertension( P  lt; 0. 001) .The phase Ⅰ and phase Ⅱ sleep of the elderly group took a longer duration ( P  lt; 0. 001) and a larger proportion( P  lt;0. 001) . The sleep apnea-hypopnea index between two groups did not show any significant difference( P =0. 082) . The lowest night oxyhemoglobin saturation of the elderly group was higher than that of the young and middle-aged group( P =0. 009) , but such difference disappeared after adjustment by weight ( P =0. 114) .
Conclusions  The major clinical manifestations of the elderly OSAHS patients are similar to the young and middle-aged patients. The elderly patients are thinner than the young and middle-aged patients, but have more complications and a higher frequency of nocturia. The night oxyhemoglobin saturation is lower in young and middle-aged patients which is associated with higher body mass index.

Citation： LUO Miao,LI Taoping,FENG Yuan,LI Xiaolin,HAN Jianfang,LI Danqing. Differences in Clinical and Polysomnographic Variables between Elderly Patients and Young and Middle-aged Patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea-Hypopnea Syndrome. Chinese Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 2012, 11(5): 489-493. doi: Copy