Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Pain Intensity in Young Adults

• Published in: Annals of the American Thoracic Society Vol. 17; no. 10; pp. 1273 - 1278
• Main Authors: Athar, Wardah, Card, Mary E., Charokopos, Antonios, Akgün, Kathleen M., DeRycke, Eric C., Haskell, Sally G., Yaggi, Henry K., Bastian, Lori A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York American Thoracic Society 01.10.2020
• Subjects: Airway management; Body mass index; Medical diagnosis; Original Research; Pain; Sleep apnea
• ISSN: 2329-6933; 2325-6621
• DOI: 10.1513/AnnalsATS.201910-750OC

Athar et al present a study that examines whether young adults with diagnosed obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) are more likely to report higher pain intensity compared with those without OSA. A cross-sectional analysis of a cohort study of Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation New Dawn veterans who had at least one visit to a Veterans Health Administration primary care clinic between 2001 and 2014 was conducted. OSA was identified using one inpatient or two outpatient International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision codes from electronic medical records. Average pain intensity was categorized as no pain/mild and moderate/severe. Covariates included age, sex, education, race, mental health diagnoses, headache diagnoses, pain diagnoses, hypertension, diabetes, body mass index, and smoking status. Multivariate logistic regression models were used, and multiple imputation was performed to generate values for missing variables. Results found that young adults with OSA have greater odds of comorbid moderate/severe pain. Because of the high prevalence of chronic pain in younger adults, the study highlights the need to understand the impact of OSA diagnosis and treatment on pain intensity.