Abstract
Objective: In recent years, in the health management of middle-aged and older males, recognition of sleep apnea syndrome (SAS) is being increasingly emphasized. Methods: We performed a screening for SAS using pulse oximetry in our human dry dock. The subjects were 1,196 adults. After filling out the questionnaire about sleep disorder and epworth sleepiness scale (ESS) score, pulse oximetry was performed on all subjects during sleep for one night to determine the oxygen desaturation index (ODI) 3%. Those strongly suspected of SAS from the questionnaire results and also those with the ODI 3%≥10 were interpreted as suspected SAS subjects; and they were then subjected to polysomnography (PSG) as candidates for the secondary screening for SAS. Those with the ODI 3% ≥10were 209 subjects. Results: The body mass index (BMI), habitual snoring, observed sleep apnea were independent factors for ODI 3%, and BMI yielded the highest correlation coefficient. About 85% of the subjects who had PSG were diagnosed with sleep disordered breathing (apnea hyponea index (AHI) ≥10). There was a significant correlation between PSG-AHI and ODI 3% but the ESS score was not correlated with PSG-AHI. The 53 subjects were AHI ≥30 and required medical treatment. Conclusions: Our results indicate that pulse oximetry analysis can be a valuable tool as the initial screening for SAS in human dry dock.
