Gender differences in the clinical manifestation of obstructive sleep apnea

Abstract Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) has been historically described as a disease primarily of men. However, it is now widely recognized that OSA in women is not as rare as was originally believed. The alarming degree to which OSA is clinically underdiagnosed in women raises the critical concern t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inSleep medicine Vol. 10; no. 10; pp. 1075 - 1084
Main Authors Ye, Lichuan, Pien, Grace W, Weaver, Terri E
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Netherlands Elsevier B.V 01.12.2009
Subjects
Activities of Daily Living - classification
Clinical manifestation
Comorbidity
Continuous Positive Airway Pressure
Cross-Sectional Studies
Female
Functional status
Gender differences
Health Services - utilization
Humans
Male
Neurology
Obstructive sleep apnea
Polysomnography
Sex Factors
Sleep Apnea, Obstructive - diagnosis
Sleep Apnea, Obstructive - epidemiology
Sleep Medicine
Symptom presentation
Therapeutic management
Utilization Review
Functional status
Clinical manifestation
Gender differences
Therapeutic management
Symptom presentation
Obstructive sleep apnea
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Summary:Abstract Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) has been historically described as a disease primarily of men. However, it is now widely recognized that OSA in women is not as rare as was originally believed. The alarming degree to which OSA is clinically underdiagnosed in women raises the critical concern that women manifest OSA differently. The purpose of this review is to examine the issue of clinically significant gender differences in OSA disease manifestation, which pose unique challenges to diagnosis and management. Within this review, current findings regarding gender differences in OSA polysomnographic features and demographic factors, symptom presentation, functional status, comorbidities, health care utilization, and therapeutic management have been reviewed. Further research in this field is proposed to examine the impact of gender on functional status in individuals with OSA, and the potential gender differences in therapeutic management, particularly the response to continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment. Additional studies describing the clinical manifestations in men and women at different levels of OSA severity may substantially contribute to the ability to identify and treat OSA in women across a wide spectrum of disease severity.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-2
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
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ObjectType-Review-1
ISSN:1389-9457
1878-5506
DOI:10.1016/j.sleep.2009.02.006