 |
 |
|
Home |
Current Issue |
Past Issues |
In the Clinic |
ACP Journal Club |
CME |
Collections |
Audio/Video |
Mobile |
Subscribe |
Tools |
Help |
ACP Online
|
1 April 1995 | Volume 122 Issue 7 | Pages 493-501
Objective: To investigate the various clinical presentations of sleep-disordered breathing in women.
Design: A retrospective case–control study.
Setting: A sleep disorders clinic.
Patients: 334 women, aged 18 years and older, seen between 1988 and 1993, who were diagnosed with upper airway sleep-disordered breathing. Controls were 60 women with insomnia and 100 men with sleep-disordered breathing.
Measurements: Clinical, anatomic, and polygraphic information.
Results: The mean lag time (±SD) in women between the appearance of symptoms and a positive diagnosis was 9.7 ±3.1 years; among participants 30 to 60 years of age, the duration of untreated symptoms differed (P <0.001) between women and men. Sleep-disordered breathing was blamed for divorce or social isolation by 40% of the case patients. Abnormal maxillomandibular features were noted in 45% of the women with disordered breathing. Dysmenorrhea and amenorrhea (which disappeared after treatment with nasal continuous positive airway pressure) were reported in 43% of premenopausal women compared with 13% of persons in the control group of women with insomnia. Thirty-eight women (11.4%) with upper airway sleep-disordered breathing had a respiratory disturbance index of less than 5 and were significantly younger, had a smaller neck circumference, and had a lower body mass index than women with a respiratory disturbance index of 5 or more.
Conclusion: Physicians should revise their understanding of upper airway sleep-disordered breathing so that they notice women with certain craniofacial features, a low body mass index, a small neck circumference, and a respiratory disturbance index of less than 5. These revisions may enable more rapid diagnosis and treatment of women with sleep-disordered breathing.
Author and Article Information
From the Stanford Sleep Disorders Clinic and Research Center, Palo Alto, California. Toyama Medical and Pharmaceutical University, Toyama, Japan. The Sleep Disorders Center, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
ARTICLE
Upper Airway Sleep-Disordered Breathing in Women
Requests for Reprints: Christian Guilleminault, MD, Stanford Sleep Disorders Clinic and Research Center, 701 Welch Road, Suite 2226, Palo Alto, CA 94304.
Acknowledgment: The authors thank Michael Gulevich for editing the manuscript.
Grant Support: In part by grant AG 07772 from the National Institute of Aging and by GCRC grant MO1 RR 00070 from the National Institutes of Health.
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  A. R. Schwartz, S. P. Patil, A. M. Laffan, V. Polotsky, H. Schneider, and P. L. Smith Obesity and Obstructive Sleep Apnea: Pathogenic Mechanisms and Therapeutic Approaches Proceedings of the ATS, February 15, 2008; 5(2): 185 - 192. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 J. Li, D. N. Grigoryev, S. Q. Ye, L. Thorne, A. R. Schwartz, P. L. Smith, C. P. O'Donnell, and V. Y. Polotsky Chronic intermittent hypoxia upregulates genes of lipid biosynthesis in obese mice J Appl Physiol, November 1, 2005; 99(5): 1643 - 1648. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 R. D. Chervin, J. W. Burns, and D. L. Ruzicka Electroencephalographic Changes during Respiratory Cycles Predict Sleepiness in Sleep Apnea Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med., March 15, 2005; 171(6): 652 - 658. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 G V Robinson, J R Stradling, and R J O Davies Sleep {middle dot} 6: Obstructive sleep apnoea/hypopnoea syndrome and hypertension Thorax, December 1, 2004; 59(12): 1089 - 1094. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
H. Schneider, S. P. Patil, S. Canisius, E. A. Gladmon, A. R. Schwartz, C. P. O'Donnell, P. L. Smith, and C. G. Tankersley Hypercapnic duty cycle is an intermediate physiological phenotype linked to mouse chromosome 5 J Appl Physiol, July 1, 2003; 95(1): 11 - 19. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 D. R. Dancey, P. J. Hanly, C. Soong, B. Lee, J. Shepard Jr, and V. Hoffstein Gender Differences in Sleep Apnea: The Role of Neck Circumference Chest, May 1, 2003; 123(5): 1544 - 1550. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
C. Guilleminault and R. Dave Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome, Insomnia, and Functional Somatic Syndromes Chest, January 1, 2003; 123(1): 12 - 14. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
R. A. Dart, J. R. Gregoire, D. D. Gutterman, and S. H. Woolf The Association of Hypertension and Secondary Cardiovascular Disease With Sleep-Disordered Breathing Chest, January 1, 2003; 123(1): 244 - 260. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 P. E. Peppard, T. Young, M. Palta, J. Dempsey, and J. Skatrud Longitudinal Study of Moderate Weight Change and Sleep-Disordered Breathing JAMA, December 20, 2000; 284(23): 3015 - 3021. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. E. BLACK, C. GUILLEMINAULT, I. M. COLRAIN, and O. CARRILLO Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome . Central Electroencephalographic Power and Changes in Breathing Effort Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med., August 1, 2000; 162(2): 406 - 411. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
N. J. Douglas Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome Is Not a Distinct Syndrome Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med., May 1, 2000; 161(5): 1413 - 1415. [Full Text]
|
|
|
|
|
|
C. O'CONNOR, K. S. THORNLEY, and P. J. HANLY Gender Differences in the Polysomnographic Features of Obstructive Sleep Apnea Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med., May 1, 2000; 161(5): 1465 - 1472. [Abstract] [Full Text]
|
|
|
|
|
|
REBUTTAL FROM DR. DOUGLAS Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med., May 1, 2000; 161(5): 1415b - 1416. [Full Text]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 Y. Finkelstein, D. Wexler, G. Berger, A. Nachmany, M. Shapiro-Feinberg, and D. Ophir Anatomical Basis of Sleep-Related Breathing Abnormalities in Children With Nasal Obstruction Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg, May 1, 2000; 126(5): 593 - 600. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 E. C. Fletcher, J. Stich, and K. L. Yang Unattended Home Diagnosis and Treatment of Obstructive Sleep Apnea Without Polysomnography Arch Fam Med, February 1, 2000; 9(2): 168 - 174. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
R. J SCHWAB Sex differences and sleep apnoea Thorax, April 1, 1999; 54(4): 284 - 285. [Full Text]
|
|
|
|
|
|
R. D. CHERVIN and M. S. ALDRICH Effects of Esophageal Pressure Monitoring on Sleep Architecture Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med., September 1, 1997; 156(3): 881 - 885. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
D. M. Claman and B. A. Votteri EFFECTS OF ESOPHAGEAL PRESSURE MONITORING ON SLEEP ARCHITECTURE Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med., May 1, 1997; 157(5): 1697 - 1698. [Full Text]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 Sleep Apnea Profiled in Women Journal Watch Psychiatry, June 1, 1995; 1995(601): 17 - 17. [Full Text]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 SLEEP APNEA IN WOMEN Journal Watch (General), April 14, 1995; 1995(414): 5 - 5. [Full Text]
|
|
Article
