Walking the fine line between OSA and aging

Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is the most common sleep- related breathing disorder. In recent years, evidence have shown that patients with OSA may have this disorder for different reasons, with different symptoms and comorbidities. Therefore, treatment should be individualized 1. This has led to a growing interest in the characterization of the disease into phenotypes. OSA in elderly patients is often a challenge for clinician in terms of diagnosis, as symptoms may be masked, but also for treatment in terms of efficacy and adherence. However, aging is a pathophysiological factor that predisposes to obstructive sleep apnea, and the two conditions share symptoms and comorbidities to such an extent that it becomes very difficult to establish a casual link between the two. We summarize the recent evidence in OSA elderly patients, particularly in terms of pathophysiology, symptoms and main comorbidities.