Consequences and factors associated with OSA: a brief review

ABSTRACT

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a sleep-related breathing disorder. It occurs due to obstruction on the upper airway of respiration. This disorder can be either complete (apnea) or partial (hypopnea). Interruption in breathing results in the production of a snoring sound, which is one of the prominent symptoms of OSA. Excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS), hypertension, diabetes, etc. are some of the commonly occurring co-morbidities of OSA. OSA is common in the population of middle-aged and elderly people, but pediatric OSA is also eminent. The occurrence of the disease is higher in males. The increasing age, male gender, higher BMI, and comorbidities, such as metabolic syndrome, and obesity are considered as risk factors and make individuals more prone to OSA. The quality of life (Qol) of the individuals also gets affected by the OSA. It also alters the circadian rhythm of various autonomic and biochemical activities of people with OSA. Although polysomnography is considered the gold standard for the diagnosis of OSA, it is very costly and time-consuming. There are many portable monitoring devices and screening questionnaires for the diagnosis of OSA. Screening of OSA before polysomnography or portable monitoring is cost-effective, quick, and productive. In this review, we have highlighted scientific studies related to various factors associated with OSA in human subjects.

KEYWORDS:

• Obstructive sleep apnea
• excessive daytime sleepiness
• apnea-hypopnea index
• circadian rhythm
• polysomnography

Acknowledgments

The study is supported by the University Grants Commission, New Delhi, India, through its DRS-SAP scheme sanctioned in the thrust area of Chronobiology to the School of Studies in Life Science, Pandit Ravishankar Shukla University, Raipur. We are grateful to Dr. Babita Pande, Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Physiology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Raipur, India, for her critical suggestions while writing the script.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The University Grants Commission, New Delhi, India, supported this work under the scheme of UGC-BSR for Junior and Senior Research Fellowship [Ref. No. 25-1/2014-15(BSR)/7-145/2007, Dated: 2015–2020] to NP.