Evaluation of Autonomic Function in Patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Objective Obstructive Sleep Apnea syndrome (OSAS) is a condition in which ever-repeating obstruction of upper airway during the sleep. In the present study, we aimed to evaluate the autonomic nervous system function in patients with moderate to severe OSAS. Materials and Methods Totally, 29 patients diagnosed with OSAS by Polysomnography (PSG) and scored moderate to severe based on American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) International Scoring in Eskişehir Osmangazi University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Neurophysiology Sleep Laboratory were included the study. Thırty healthy individuals included as control group. Analyzing protocol of electrophysiological autonomic nervous system functions included Sympathetic Skin Response (SDY) for sympathetic nervous system and RR Interval Variability (RRIV) for parasympathetic nervous system both during rest and after Hyperventilation (HV). Results Patient group included 29 patients consists of 4 women (14%) and 25 men (86%) and control group included 30 healthy volunteers consists of 18 women (60%) and 12 men (40%). The mean age was 46.6±10.2 years for the patient group and 43.5±12.2 years for the control group. In patient group, 12 patients had moderate OSAS and 17 patients had severe OSAS. No statistically significant difference was found for the values of mean SDY latency, RRIV and HV-RRIV between groups (p>0.05). Conclusion In our study, significant autonomic dysfunction was not found in patients with OSAS.