Age-specific markers of adiposity in patients with obstructive sleep apnea

Abstract Objectives Adiposity can have varying effects on the individual depending upon its distribution pattern. We assessed age-related distribution of adipose tissue by anthropometric measures and bioelectrical impedance analysis, as well as their association with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) severity. Methods Participants were 169 elderly (aged ≥ 65 years) and 142 non-elderly (aged Results Compared with non-elderly, elderly showed higher conicity index and visceral adiposity(VA)/subcutaneous adiposity(SA), lower body mass index (BMI), neck circumference, waist circumference, hip circumference and SA. Multiple regression analyses revealed that VA and VA/SA were independently associated with AHI in elderly (explained 17.2% of the AHI 0.5 variability), while BMI and VA/SA were independently associated with AHI in non-elderly (explained 25.9% of the AHI 0.5 variability), after adjusting for age, sex, cigarette smoking, alcohol drinking and main comorbidities. In elderly, VA over 128 cm2 and VA/SA less than 0.41 resulted in sensitivity, specificity and AUC of 0.382, 0.790, 0.580 and 0.176, 0.947, 0.553 in predicting moderate-to-severe OSA, respectively. In non-elderly, BMI over 24.7 kg/m2 and VA/SA over 0.54 resulted in sensitivity, specificity and AUC of 0.883, 0.484, 0.704 and 0.550, 0.710, 0.667 in predicting moderate-to-severe OSA, respectively. Conclusions VA is strongly associated with OSA severity in elderly, independently of general obesity as per BMI standards, while general adiposity appears to be more strongly associated with OSA severity in non-elderly. Our study supports age-specific approaches should be developed with respect to prediction and treatment of OSA.