Obstructive sleep apnea and related symptoms in medical students

Abstract

Objective: This prospective and cross-sectional study investigated the occurrence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and related symptoms in medical students. Method: Sociodemographic and anthropometric data were collected. The survey included the Epworth sleepiness scale, Berlin questionnaire, STOP-Bang, and NoSAS. Participants underwent overnight digital monitoring of respiratory events (≥ 3% drop in SpO2) using a high-resolution oximeter. Those with high risk for OSA in the Berlin questionnaire or an oxygen desaturation index ≥ 5 to < 15 events/hour, were examined through type 3 polysomnography. Results: The evaluated sample comprised 64 students, aged 22.3±2.3 years, and 38 (59.4%) males. A high risk for OSA frequency was detected in 10.9% of the sample through the Berlin questionnaire, and in 4.7% through STOP-Bang and NoSAS. A mild form of this disorder was diagnosed in 4.7% of the sample through type 4 polysomnography, and in 6.2% using type 3 polysomnography. Excessive daytime sleepiness and being overweight were associated with the occurrence of mild obstructive sleep apnea (p ≤0.05). Males presented higher body mass index values, neck circumference, oxygen desaturation index events/hour, and continuous values in the Berlin questionnaire, STOP-Bang, and NoSAS, than females (p ≤0.05). Conclusion: Despite a low occurrence of the assessed sleep-disordered breathing among medical students, male gender, overweight and sleepiness consisted of factors associated with obstructive sleep apnea, indicating that medical students with this profile should be early and systematically screened for this condition.