Screening practices for obstructive sleep apnea in healthy community people: a Chinese community-based study

Guo Pei; Qiong Ou; Guangliang Shan; Yaoda Hu; Miaochan Lao; Yanxia Xu; Longlong Wang; Jiaoying Tan; Bin Lu

doi:10.21037/jtd-22-1538

Screening practices for obstructive sleep apnea in healthy community people: a Chinese community-based study

J Thorac Dis. 2023 Sep 28;15(9):5134-5149. doi: 10.21037/jtd-22-1538. Epub 2023 Aug 28.

Authors

Guo Pei^{1

2}, Qiong Ou^{1

2}, Guangliang Shan³, Yaoda Hu³, Miaochan Lao¹, Yanxia Xu¹, Longlong Wang¹, Jiaoying Tan¹, Bin Lu¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Sleep Center, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital (Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences), Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
² School of Medicine, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China.
³ Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, School of Basic Medicine, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.

Abstract

Background: Owing to the lack of clear guidelines, the significance of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) screening in healthy community people is unclear. This study aimed to screen for OSA in a healthy community population and provide a basis for its screening.

Methods: Permanent residents from five communities in the coastal and mountainous areas of south China were selected. The screening process included demographic and sleep questionnaire surveys, and an OSA screening. To compare the prevalence and risk factors of OSA in different areas, a type IV wearable intelligent sleep monitor (WISM) was used for screening.

Results: A total of 3,650 participants completed all studies, with a mean age of 53.81±12.71 years. In addition, 4,318 participants completed the OSA screening within 30 days, and the objective screening speed was 200 people per day. The recovery rate of the screening equipment was 99.37% (4,291/4,318), the screening success rate was 89.63% (3,846/4,291), and the rejection rate was 2.7% (120/4,438). The prevalence of high-risk OSA screened using the Stop-Bang questionnaire was 42.8% (1,563/3,650) and that screened using the device was 30.7% (1,119/3,650). The prevalence of OSA screened using the Stop-Bang questionnaire was higher than that screened using the device (P<0.01). Further analysis of sleep quality and daytime sleepiness showed that 47.6% (1,736/3,650) of the community population had good sleep quality and 6.6% (240/3,650) had daytime sleepiness. Age, sex, body mass index (BMI), neck circumference, and hypertension were risk factors for OSA in the community population.

Conclusions: The use of objective type IV sleep detection equipment to screen a large sample population in the community in a short time is feasible. The prevalence of high-risk OSA screened using the Stop-Bang questionnaire was higher than that screened using the objective screening device.

Keywords: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA); community population; oxygen desaturation index (ODI); wearable intelligent sleep monitor (WISM).