Objective: The prevalence and severity of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) increase with age, suggesting that age-related factors are etiological factors for OSA in older adults. In addition to anatomic contractions of the upper respiratory tract, such as those caused by obesity and retrognathia, sleep is impaired in older OSA patients due to aging. Although aging has long been associated with structural changes in the upper airway potential, specific age-related anatomical differences in patients with OSA are not established. This study aimed to examine age-related morphological differences in OSA patients, particularly in older adults. Methods: This study was designed as a retrospective cross-sectional study conducted at the Center for Dental Sleep Medicine, Osaka Dental University, between May 2017 and September 2022. From an initial cohort of 1032 patients, 183 male participants were included after applying strict inclusion and exclusion criteria. Patients were classified into two age groups: middle age (40–60 years) and older age (≥65 years). Polysomnographic parameters; body mass index (BMI); airway space (AS) obtained from cephalometric radiographs; length of the soft palate (PNS-P); SNB angle, as an indicator of mandibular position; and the position of the hyoid bone (MP-H) were compared between the groups. Statistical analysis included Levene’s test for homogeneity of variances, independent sample t-tests for group comparisons, and multiple regression analyses to identify independent predictors of AHI. This study was conducted with the approval of the Ethics Committee of Osaka Dental University (No. 111047). Results: Older patients showed significantly lower REM sleep percentage (13.5 ± 1.31% vs. 16.4 ± 0.59%, p = 0.047), significantly lower BMI (23.6 ± 0.45 kg/m2 vs. 24.6 ± 0.29 kg/m2, p = 0.049), and significantly larger AS (15.8 ± 0.52 mm vs. 12.0 ± 0.27 mm, p = 0.000) compared to middle-aged patients. Furthermore, in the middle-aged group, BMI (β = 0.40, 95% CI: 1.46 to 3.41, p < 0.001), SNB (β = −0.18, 95% CI: −1.75 to −0.09, p = 0.030), and MP-H (β = 0.19, 95% CI: 0.10 to 1.01, p = 0.018) were significant independent predictors of AHI. In the older group, no parameters were significant predictors of AHI. Conclusions: We found that older adult patients had a larger airway diameter and lower REM sleep percentage and BMI than middle-aged patients. Furthermore, regarding factors associated with AHI, which is an indicator of sleep apnea severity, in the middle-aged group, anatomical factors such as BMI, SNA, and MPH contributed significantly, but in the older adult group, anatomical factors were not relevant. The results suggested that anatomical factors alone may not fully explain the pathogenesis of OSA in older patients, highlighting the need for further studies focusing on other age-related factors.
Wang et al. (2025) studied this question.