Respiratory muscle fatiguability is higher in obese individuals with poor sleep quality

Abstract

<b>Introduction</b> Respiratory muscle performance has been theorized to contribute to sleep quality in obese patients. However, the results from previous studies investigating are conflicting but have primarily utilized static measurements of respiratory muscle performance. We hypothesized that dynamic measurements of respiratory muscle performance obtained from the Test of Incremental Respiratory Endurance (TIRE) may elucidate significant differences in performance between obese individuals with good sleep quality and poor sleep quality. <b>Subjects</b> 30 anonymized medical records from patients enrolled in a bariatric rehabilitation program between June 2018 and May 2019. <b>Methods</b> A retrospective chart review was used to obtain the following data: Maximal Inspiratory Pressure (MIP), Sustained Maximal Inspiratory Pressure (SMIP), Inspiratory Duration (ID), Slope of the SMIP Plot (SMIP Slope), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), age, height, weight, and BMI. Patients were sorted into groups according to their PSQI total score (PS: poor sleep quality ≥ 5, and GS: good sleep quality &amp;lt;5). Independent T-Tests were used to compare means between groups. <b>Results</b> 15 patients had a PSQI total score of ≥ 5, and 15 patients had a PSQI total score &amp;lt;5. No significant differences between groups were observed for Age, Height, Weight, BMI, MIP, SMIP, and ID. A significant between groups difference was observed for SMIP Slope (PS: 11.17 ± 4.77; GS: 9.58 ± 2.3; p = 0.027). <b>Conclusion</b> Individuals with poorer sleep quality demonstrated a significantly higher slope of the SMIP plot reflecting a reduced ability of the respiratory muscles to sustain force output and greater fatiguability.