Abstract
Objective The incidence of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) was studied in examinee of human dry dock by a simple test, and the effectiveness of an interview for the diagnosis of OSAS was evaluated. Methods A simple test of OSAS using an Auto Set Portable II (Teijin) was performed in 207 male examinee of two days human dry dock aged 30-76 years (mean 53.1 years). Results The apnea hyponea index (AHI) was 5 or higher in 76.7% of the examinee and 10 or higher in 50.0% of the examinee. The abnormalities were mild or severer in 50.0%, moderate or severer in 16.0%, and severe in 6.8% of the examinee. Concerning the relationship between interview findings and the results of sleep apnea testing, the frequency of examinee with an AHI of 10 or higher was significantly high among those who answered “Yes”to 4 question items including “snore every night” and “stop breathing during sleep”. Concerning the relationship between the AHI and the epworth sleepness scale (ESS) score, the frequency of examinee with an abnormal ESS score (≥11) was or only 3.5%. Conclusions The percentage of the examinee of human dry dock who had severe OSAS (AHI≥30) was unexpectedly high at 6.8%. This high percentage indicates the necessity for reevaluation of the cut-off value between normal and abnormal AHIs. Thirty-five (34%) of those with an AHT of 10 or higher (abnormal) and 9 (9%) of those with an AHI of 9 or lower (normal) answered that they had been told that they stopped breathing during sleep. Since the ESS score suggested that many patients with OSAS did not feel sleepy during the daytime, further evaluation is needed concerning the testing procedure and the determination of the normal range. Since interviewing and examination of the ESS score were insufficient for the prediction of sleep disordered breathing (SDB), a simple test is essential.
