Prevalence and Characteristics of Subjects with Obstructive Sleep Apnea among Adults with Insomnia Disorder

• Main Authors: Jeewon Lee, Ji Ho Choi, Shin-Gyeom Kim
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Korean Society of Sleep Medicine 2019-12-01
• Series: Sleep Medicine Research
• Subjects: obstructive sleep apnea; insomnia; polysomnography
• Online Access: http://www.sleepmedres.org/upload/pdf/smr-2019-00409.pdf

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the prevalence and characteristics of subjects with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) among adults with insomnia disorder. Among 105 participants (mean age = 40.61 ± 11.62, male = 53.3%) diagnosed with insomnia disorder who reported that they do not snore loudly, the prevalence of OSA was 35.2%. Despite the high Apnea-Hypopnea Index, longer lighter stages of sleep, and more numbers of total arousal in the polysomnography, subjects with OSA had a lesser tendency to overestimate their sleep onset latency compared to those without OSA. This study highlights the importance of examining insomnia patients for OSA even when the patients do not report loud snoring. Future studies are needed to identify the specific clinical features of patients with co-existing OSA and insomnia.