Author(s): Eliscer Guzman, Delia Silverio, Ian Martinez, Elizabeth Hilario, Maria D. Salcedo, Peter D. Montan and Constantine E.
Kosmas
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a highly prevalent disorder, affecting up to 50% of middle-aged men and 23% of middle-aged women [1], with up to 80% of patients with OSA being undiagnosed [2]. This condition is characterized by a repetitive partial or complete obstruction of the pharynx during sleep. Despite increasing breathing efforts, the upper airway collapse results in episodes of obstructive hypopnea or apnea affecting the sleep architecture and the whole body via instant and long-term mechanisms. The severity of sleep apnea is measured with the apnea/hypopnea index (AHI), which quantifies the number of times per hour an episode of apnea or hypopnea occurs. An AHI ≥ 5 is currently considered as diagnostic of OSA