The "sweet" side of the Overlap Syndrome

Abstract

Introduction: Overlap Syndrome (OS) is a chronic respiratory disease defined by coexistence of Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). An increasing number of studies have established the presence of a link between chronic respiratory diseases and metabolic ones. No studies have been conducted to define the prevalence of diabetes mellitus 2 (DM2) in patients (pts) with OS. Aims: First, to define prevalence of DM2 in pts with OS. Second, to identify predictive parameters of DM2 in OS. Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of the clinical records of 93 pts with diagnosis of OS. DM2 was identified by anamnesis and by screening with glycosylated haemoglobin or fasting blood sugar measurement according to ADA guidelines. For the second objective, we analyzed anamnestic, anthropometric, haemogasanalytic, spirometric, nocturnal cardio-respiratory and haematochemical variables. Patients with incomplete records were excluded. Statistical significance: p Results: 83 pts were included in the analysis. Prevalence of DM2: Prevalence was 42% (35 cases), with 10 new diagnosis made by screening. Among the latter, 4 pts had ischemic heart disease and 2 pts had atrial fibrillation. Predictive Parameters: Difference was found only for FVC, creatinine and belonging to group D, as showed in Table 1. Conclusion: The prevalence of DM2 is high in OS. Screening allows the recognition of new cases of DM2, whose therapy is decisive for cardiovascular prevention. Patients with DM2 have worse lung fuction and belong mainly to group D.