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Journal of Clinical Medicine Research

Original Article

Volume 9, Number 12, December 2017, pages 1002-1006

Risk of Obstructive Sleep Apnea Assessment Among Patients With Type 2 Diabetes in Taif, Saudi Arabia

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a repetitive episode of partial and complete airway obstructions during sleep. This disorder can be caused by common type of sleep disorders and this condition is associated with oxyhemoglobin desaturations [1, 2]. The prevalence of OSA increases with aging. In men and women between 30 and 60 years old, the prevalence is 24% in men and 9% in women. OSA is common in both developing and developed countries and its prevalence has increased in the last two decades [3]. Most studies reported a 1.5- to three-fold higher prevalence of OSA in men [4]. The OSA has a number of risk factors, and the most important is obesity reflected by body mass index (BMI), neck circumference and waist to hip ratio [5, 6].

Other risk factors have been reported in the literature as aging, male gender, genetic predisposition, smoking, alcohol drinking and craniofacial anomalies [7, 8]. Cross-sectional studies indicate an association between OSA and certain medical conditions like type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension, heart failure, coronary heart disease and polycystic ovary syndrome [9-11]. OSA could be novel risk factor of type 2 diabetes or vice versa [12]. The glucose control in diabetics with OSA is poor and the severity of OSA is directly related to hemoglobin A1c values [13]. Studies reported a significant association between insulin resistance and sleep apnea in general population independently of any confounder especially obesity [14-16].

In a study conducted to test the effect of OSA treatment in diabetic patients, the authors found that insulin sensitivity enhanced after using of continuous positive airway pressure after two nights of treatment, and this was obvious in patients with BMI less than 30 kg/m² [17].

We aimed to assess the risk of OSA among diabetic patients hospitalized from June to August 2017 at King Abdul-Aziz Specialist Hospital in Taif city, Saudi Arabia.

This study was a cross-sectional observational study.

Inclusion criteria included patients hospitalized from June to August 2017 at King Abdul-Aziz Specialist Hospital in Taif city and diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Exclusion criteria included the patients with type 1 diabetes or patients who did not have type 2.

Data were collected using the STOP-BANG sleep apnea screening questionnaire [18]. The questionnaire includes eight dichotomous questions that offer an easy method to assess the risk of OSA (Table 1). The scoring scale is categorized into three groups: low (0 - 2), intermediate (3 - 4) and high (5 - 8), respectively. The answers were yes (= 1) and no (= 0) and the total score was 8.

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Table 1. The STOP-BANG Questionnaire

Other collected variables were other co-morbidities such as hypertension, coronary heart disease, heart failures, stroke or others. Also, oral medication or insulin injection, HbA1c and last fasting blood sugar (FBS) were collected.

To describe qualitative variables, frequency and percentage were used. The mean, median and standard deviation were used to describe quantitative variables.

To test the relationship between the score and quantitative variables, Spearman’s correlation was used. To analyze the association between the level of OSA’s risk and the type of treatment of diabetes, Chi-square test was used. The significant level of P was fixed at 0.05.

A total of 197 patients participated in our study, 55.8% of them were females and 44.2% were males (Table 2). The mean age of the participants was 56.1 years and the standard deviation was 15.5 years. The minimum age was 12 years and the maximum was 93 years. Among our patients, 35% had hypertension, 12.2% had history of coronary heart disease and 6.6% had history of stroke. Only one patient had heart failure (Fig. 1). As regards diabetes treatment, 49.7% of the patients used oral hypoglycemic drugs, while 21.3% used insulin, and 28.9% of the patients used both insulin and oral hypoglycemic drugs (Fig. 2). Most of the patients participating in the study (166) were able to remember their last FBS reading, where the mean reading was 189.7 mmol/L and the standard deviation was 75.8 mmol/L. For the HbA1c, 166 patients mentioned their reading with the mean of 8.6% and the standard deviation of 2%.

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Figure 1. Numbers of diabetic patients with history of other diseases, hospitalized from June to August 2017 at King Abdul-Aziz Specialist Hospital (n = 197).

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Figure 2. Drugs used by diabetic patients hospitalized from June to August 2017 at King Abdul-Aziz Specialist Hospital (n = 197).

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Table 2. Gender Distribution in Diabetic Patients Hospitalized From June to August 2017 at King Abdul-Aziz Specialist Hospital (n = 197)

The score of STOP-BANG questionnaire was calculated for all the patients and the mean was 2.6, the standard deviation was 1.7 and the median was 2 (Table 3). Patients’ risk was calculated based on the score of STOP-BANG questionnaire, and the result was that 57.9% of the patients had mild risk, 26.9% had moderate risk and 15.2% had severe risk of OSA (Fig. 3).

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Figure 3. Risk of developing obstructive sleep apnea in diabetic patients hospitalized from June to August 2017 at King Abdul-Aziz Specialist Hospital (n = 197).

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Table 3. STOP-BANG Questionnaire Score in Diabetic Patients Hospitalized From June to August 2017 at King Abdul-Aziz Specialist Hospital (n = 197)

Spearman’s correlation was calculated for the relationship between the score and the age which was significant with P value of < 0.001, and the correlation coefficient was 0.35. Spearman’s correlation was also calculated for the FBS and the HbA1c, but it was non-significant with P values of 0.554 and 0.335, respectively. Chi-square test was performed to test for the presence of relationship between the type of treatment and the risk severity of developing OSA, which was significant with P value of < 0.001. Percentage of patients with severe risk was higher in those taking both insulin and oral drugs than in those taking insulin alone or oral drugs alone (Fig. 4).

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Figure 4. Type of treatment and its relationship with the severity of OSA’s risk in diabetic patients hospitalized from June to August 2017 at King Abdul-Aziz Specialist Hospital (n = 197).

A total of 197 diabetic patients participated in our study aiming at assessing the risk of OSA in the diabetic patients in Taif city. The measurement tool used in this study was the STOP-BANG questionnaire. The score of STOP-BANG questionnaire was calculated for all the patients, the mean was 2.6 and the standard deviation was 1.7. According to the scores of the patients, 57.9% of patients had mild risk, 26.9% had moderate risk and 15.2% had severe risk for OSA. A significant correlation was found between the score and the age and the correlation coefficient was 0.35, meaning that there is a moderate positive relationship between age and the score. There was no significant correlation between the score and FBS’s level and between the score and the HbA1c’s value.

The presence of relationship between the type of the treatment of the diabetes and the risk severity of developing OSA was tested and it was significant with P value of < 0.001. Percentage of patients with severe risk was higher in those taking both insulin and oral drugs than those taking insulin alone or oral drugs alone.

The results of this study can be compared to those of a study published in 2006 studying the prevalence of OSA in men with type 2 diabetes [19].

The authors found that 57% were scored as “high” and 39% as “low” risk for OSA; 4% were already known to have OSA. The method used in this study is a questionnaire different from the STOP-BANG questionnaire. There was no significant difference in HbA1c levels between the “high” and “low” risk groups, which is the same result we reached in our study.

Another study focused on OSA among obese patients with type 2 diabetes. It showed that over 86% of participants had OSA with an apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) ≥ 5 events/h. The mean AHI was 20.5 ± 16.8 events/h. A total of 30.5% of the participants had moderate OSA (15 ≤ AHI < 30), and 22.6% had severe OSA (AHI ≥ 30) [20].

In a study conducted to test the relationship between sleep-disordered breathing and insulin resistance, authors found that sleep-disordered breathing parameters (AHI and minimum oxygen saturation) were independent determinants of insulin resistance [21].

A population-based study performed in 1,387 participants of the Wisconsin Sleep Cohort found a significant association between sleep apnea and type 2 diabetes, and this relationship was independent from other risk factors [22].

In conclusion, the OSA risk and prevalence is much higher in diabetics than in general population, with the risk increasing with age. The risk is higher in diabetic patients who received both oral hypoglycemic drugs and insulin. These results suggest that the screening of OSA among diabetic patients is necessary to identify those at severe risk and manage this problem, which may remain undiagnosed in many patients.

Source(s) of Support

None.

Conflict of Interest

None.

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Journal of Clinical Medicine Research is published by Elmer Press Inc.