Abstract Background Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) and common respiratory symptoms may share pathophysiological mechanisms. Furthermore, there are limited population-based data on the prevalence of OSA especially in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs). We aimed to assess the burden of OSA and its association with respiratory symptoms. Methods We analysed 5,928 adults from 18 sites in the Burden of Obstructive Lung Disease (BOLD) follow-up study. The study sites are spread over Africa, Asia, Europe and the Caribbean. OSA was defined using the Multivariable Apnoea Prediction (MAP) index (≥0.5). We fitted logistic regression models and adjusted for smoking status to estimate associations between respiratory symptoms and OSA and then pooled site-specific estimates using random-effects meta-analysis. Results The prevalence of OSA varied from 3.0% in Blantyre (Malawi) to 39.4% in Reykjavik (Iceland). Among participants with OSA, most were male (76.6%), obese (62.2%), and had hypertension (52.2%). Respiratory symptoms were more frequent in those with OSA than those without OSA with prevalences in chronic cough 11.6% vs 5.8%, chronic phlegm 11.1% vs 4.7%, wheeze 22.6% vs 11.4%, and dyspnoea 20.2% vs 12.1% respectively. In adjusted models, OSA was associated with chronic cough (aOR 1.46, 95% CI 1.09-1.97), chronic phlegm (aOR 1.18, 95% CI 1.18-2.79), wheeze (aOR 1.76, 95% CI 1.42-2.18), and dyspnoea (aOR 1.89, 95% CI 1.44-2.48). Conclusion The respiratory symptoms are associated with higher odds of OSA. Therefore, the presence of chronic cough, chronic phlegm, wheeze, or dyspnoea should prompt further evaluation for OSA. This abstract is funded by: European Respiratory Society Fellowship
Adeoti et al. (Fri,) studied this question.