Clinical features of obstructive sleep apnea in the elderly Chilean population.

Introduction: The symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) can be overlooked by some natural functional impairments of aging. Aims and objectives: Describe clinical features of OSA and assessment of different scales and questionnaires as screening tools in elderly Chilean population. Methods: Retrospective study of 1044 patients that underwent a Respiratory Polygraphy (RP) for OSA evaluation. Demographic, anthropometric, comorbidities and RP variables were taken in to account. Patients completed the Epworth Sleepiness Scale, Thornton Snoring Scale, Beck Depression Inventory and a direct interview before the RP. Three groups were defined: 75 years. OSA was defined as an Apnea Hipoapnea Index (AHI)=5. Results: The elderly group had a higher AHI, central apnea index, CT90%, rate of insomnia, rate of depression and proportion of severe OSA. STOP-BANG had the best AUC for SAOS screening in all age groups ( 75 AUC 0,724; IC 0,467–0,981; p=0,078) Conclusions: Chilean elderly population in this study have a higher AHI, are more likely to have insomnia and depression, but reported no difference in daytime sleepiness comparing to the younger group. STOP-BANG is a useful tool for screening patients with OSA for all age groups.