Risk of obstructive sleep apnoea among PLHIV and HIV-negative outpatients in a large Nigerian tertiary hospital

Introduction: Obstructive sleep apnoea (0SA) is an under-recognized and underdiagnosed medical condition, with lots of negative consequences on patients9 health and society. The aim of this study was to compare the risk of OSA and excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) OSA among HIV positive and negative patients in Ebonyi State, Nigeria. Methods: This cross-sectional comparative study was conducted in 2018 in Federal Teaching hospital Abakaliki. The Berlin Questionnaire (BQ) and Epworth Sleepiness Scale were interviewer-administered to assess the risk of OSA and EDS respectively from 151 PLHIV and 197 HIV negative outpatients selected by systematic random sampling from the clinics. Data were analysed using SPSS version 20 at 95% level of significance. Results: Among the HIV-negative respondents, there were 52.7% males while females constituted 61.6% of PLHIV. About half (47.3%) of the HIV-negative respondents were aged 20-29 years of age, while 34.4% of PLHIV were aged 30-39 years. Mean BMI among HIV-negative and PLHIV were 25±5.5 and 23±4.6 respectively. Snoring was significantly higher among HIV negative clients than PLHIV (34.7% vs 15.2%, P= Conclusion: Both HIV-negative patients and PLHIV in this study were at risk of OSA. We recommend increased suspicion by physicians for early identification and management of patients at risk for OSA.