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Prevalence of sleep apnea-related symptoms in a Persian population

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Abstract

Purpose

There are no published data regarding the prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in Iran. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to identify individuals with a high likelihood to suffer from obstructive sleep apnea in the Persian population. This was compared to similar studies in other countries.

Materials and methods

As a part of a population-based cross-sectional study, 3,600 randomly selected individuals aged 18 years or more, were invited to take part in the survey, 3,529 individuals (98%) agreed to fill out the Berlin sleep questionnaire.

Results

Based on the Berlin Criteria, 176 subjects (4.98%) were identified as suspicious for OSA. This group consisted of 74 (42%) males and 102 (58%) females. The prevalence of high-risk Berlin in men and women were not significantly different with chi-square test (p > 0.2). But high-risk Berlin subjects also were increasing with age (p < 0.001) and increasing with obesity (p < 0.001) and decreasing with higher education (p < 0.001) with chi-square test. Predictors of high risk for OSA-related symptoms were female sex, age more than 50 years, and body mass index.

Conclusions

We identified persons with a high risk for OSA among a representative Iranian sample. It is concluded that the prevalence of sleep apnea syndrome symptoms is lower in our population as compared with western countries which can be attributed to the excessively young Iranian population.

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Acknowledgment

This study was supported by Isfahan University Medical Sciences-Iran

Conflict of interest

No affiliation with organizations with financial interest and no conflict of interest were involved in this study.

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Correspondence to Babak Amra.

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Amra, B., Farajzadegan, Z., Golshan, M. et al. Prevalence of sleep apnea-related symptoms in a Persian population. Sleep Breath 15, 425–429 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11325-010-0353-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11325-010-0353-4

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