Upper airway symptoms in primary snoring and in sleep apnea

Abstract

Conclusions: Upper airway symptoms were common in subjects referred for sleep study. In particular, nasal stuffiness and airway dryness already seemed to bother snorers before development of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS). Mouth dryness increased with severity of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Objectives: Upper airway symptoms are common in patients with OSAS. However, prevalence of these symptoms is unknown in primary snoring and mild OSA. We evaluated frequency of upper airway symptoms in a large group of patients referred for diagnostic sleep studies. Methods: We examined 524 consecutive subjects (69% men, mean ± SD age 51 ± 12 years, apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) 15 ± 21, body mass index 31 ± 6) by a questionnaire-based survey. The subjects filled in a questionnaire enquiring about current upper airway symptoms and history of nasal and pharyngeal disorders before the sleep study. Results: Frequent upper airway symptoms among study subjects were common: 56% of the patients reported throat dryness, 55% mouth dryness, 54% nasal stuffiness, 52% nose dryness, 33% sneezing, 33% postnasal drip, and 24% rhinorrhea. The patients with moderate or severe OSAS (AHI ≥15 and Epworth sleepiness score ≥10) suffered from mouth dryness more often (71% vs 40%, p < 0.01) than those with mild or no OSAS.

Keywords::

• Nasal stuffiness
• rhinitis
• obstructive sleep apnea syndrome
• questionnaire
• sleep study
• continuous positive airway pressure

Acknowledgments

This study has benefited from the financial support of the following nonprofit organizations in Finland: the Research Foundation for Respiratory Diseases, the Finnish Anti-Tuberculosis Association Foundation, the Väinö and Laina Kivi Foundation, the Jalmari and Rauha Ahokas Foundation, and the Sleep Research Society of Finland.

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.