Chest
Original ResearchSleep DisordersIs Sleep Apnea a Winter Disease?: Meteorologic and Sleep Laboratory Evidence Collected Over 1 Decade
Section snippets
Research Subjects
The results of in-laboratory full-night polysomnography studies performed on 7,523 consecutive patients referred to a university-affiliated sleep clinic to investigate a suspected sleep disorder from January 2000 to December 2009 were analyzed retrospectively. We included studies carried out in individuals of both sexes aged 18 years and older. Only diagnostic, baseline, intervention-free polysomnographies were included. Studies lasting < 6 h or with < 3.5 h of time asleep were excluded.
A
Results
Polysomnographic results were obtained for 364 days, including February 29. Only for the purposes of tabulation and graphic representation were data reduced to four seasons or warm weather and cold weather. The means of anthropometric and clinical characteristics of the different populations undergoing polysomnography by season are shown in Table 1. The measurements were available for different numbers of patients. Male patients predominantly attended the sleep laboratory, with significant
Discussion
The present results demonstrate differences in the polysomnographic findings recorded in varying populations with the changing of seasons. The original finding of a circannual pattern of AHI in a large sample suggests that the seasonality of OSA severity is a viable hypothesis.
The population undergoing polysomnography to investigate sleep disorders in the winter displays more severe OSA than those examined in the summer. Regarding the main objective, to search for a seasonal pattern, the 364
Acknowledgments
Author contributions: Dr Martinez assumes responsibility for the data and is the guarantor of the manuscript.
Ms Cassol: contributed to study design, data collection, statistical analysis, and the writing of the manuscript.
Dr Martinez: contributed to study design, statistical analysis, and the writing of the manuscript, and also contributed to performing the sleep study and collecting data.
Mr Silva: contributed to cosinor analysis and the writing of the manuscript.
Ms Fischer: contributed to
References (33)
- et al.
Seasonality and daily weather conditions in relation to myocardial infarction and sudden cardiac death in Olmsted County, Minnesota, 1979 to 2002
J Am Coll Cardiol
(2006) - et al.
Annual distribution of ventricular tachycardias and ventricular fibrillation
Am Heart J
(2003) - et al.
Obstructive sleep apnea and platelet activation: another potential link between sleep-disordered breathing and cardiovascular disease
Chest
(2004) - et al.
Hemostatic alterations in patients with obstructive sleep apnea and the implications for cardiovascular disease
Chest
(2003) - et al.
Oxidative stress in obstructive sleep apnea
Chest
(2005) - et al.
Oxidative stress and cardiovascular complications in sleep apnea
Chest
(2005) - et al.
Independent association between obstructive sleep apnea and subclinical coronary artery disease
Chest
(2008) - et al.
Obstructive sleep apnea: implications for cardiac and vascular disease
Chest
(2008) - et al.
Influenza as a trigger for acute myocardial infarction or death from cardiovascular disease: a systematic review
Lancet Infect Dis
(2009) - et al.
Pathophysiology of sleep apnea
Physiol Rev
(2010)
Associations of PM10 with sleep and sleep-disordered breathing in adults from seven U.S. urban areas
Am J Respir Crit Care Med
Longitudinal study of moderate weight change and sleep-disordered breathing
JAMA
Obstructive apneas during sleep in patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis
Am Rev Respir Dis
Sleep and allergic rhinitis
J Investig Allergol Clin Immunol
Pathogenesis of obstructive sleep apnea
J Appl Physiol
Does a subtropical climate imply a seasonal rhythm in REM sleep?
Sleep
Cited by (0)
Funding/Support: Financial support was granted by the Brazilian Government (CAPES and CNPq grants) and through the Research Incentive Fund [FIPE/09-478] of the Hospital de Clinicas de Porto Alegre.
Reproduction of this article is prohibited without written permission from the American College of Chest Physicians. See online for more details.