Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior among Hispanic Obstructive Sleep Apnea Patients in Puerto Rico

Abstract

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a chronic respiratory disease more prevalent in men compared with females, and commonly associated with obesity and poor quality of life. Few studies have reported low physical activity (PA), but none has evaluated sedentary time (ST) in this population; and these characteristics among Hispanics are unknown. PURPOSE: To describe PA behavior and ST, and their association with waist circumference and BMI in a group of Hispanic adults living with OSA in Puerto Rico (PR). METHODS: A group of 15 adults (10 men and 5 women, mean age = 44.3±9.4 yrs) in treatment for OSA completed measurements of height and weight; and wore an ActiGraph GT3x+ accelerometer attached to a waist band placed in the right hip area for 7 days. Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were used to detect gender differences, and Spearman correlations to evaluate the association between PA, ST and BMI. RESULTS: No gender differences were observed. Participants spent 34.7±46.9 min/week in moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA), and 8.8±1.3 hrs/day in ST. Mean BMI was 34.7±5.9 kg/m2. No significant correlations were observed between PA and BMI (ρ= -0.39, P= 0.15), ST and MVPA (ρ= -0.23, P=0.42), and ST and BMI (ρ= 0.05, P= 0.86). CONCLUSION: Obesity was highly prevalent (93%) in this group of Hispanic adults living with OSA in PR, probably obscuring its association with PA and ST. In general, these participants could be classified as physically inactive and sedentary, factors associated with reduced life expectancy and poor quality of life. Clinical treatment must integrate strategies to help control body weight, improve PA, and reduce ST in this population.