The influence of gender on symptoms associated with obstructive sleep apnea.

BACKGROUND: It has been reported that the clinical expression of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) may differ in women and men.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of gender on reported OSA-related symptoms in a large clinical population of patients.

METHODS: The database from the sleep laboratory of a tertiary care center was examined. Adult patients who had undergone a diagnostic polysomnography and completed the Berlin questionnaire, a sleep questionnaire, and the Epworth sleepiness scale were selected. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to assess the relationship between OSA-associated symptoms and different potential explanatory variables.

RESULTS: The study sample included 1084 patients, median age was 53 years, 46.5% (504) were women, 72.7% (788) had OSA (apnea/hypopnea index ≥ 5), and 31.2% were obese. After adjusting for age, body mass index, and apnea/hypopnea index, men were more likely to report snoring (OR 4.06, p < 0.001), habitual or loud snoring (OR 2.34, p < 0.001; 2.14, p < 0.001, respectively) and apneas (OR 2.44, p < 0.001), than women. After controlling for multiple variables, female gender was an independent predictive factor for reported tiredness (OR 0.57, p 0.001), sleep onset insomnia (OR 0.59, p 0.0035), and morning headaches (OR 0.32, p < 0.001). Reports of excessive daytime sleepiness, nocturia, midnight insomnia, and subjective cognitive complaints were not significantly associated with gender.

CONCLUSION: Women with OSA were more likely to report tiredness, initial insomnia, and morning headaches, and less likely to complain of typical OSA symptoms (snoring, apneas) than men.