Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Hypoxia in Geriatric Patients

Increased age is an important contributor to the risk of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). However, the relationship between age and hypoxemia has not been fully elucidated. We investigated the association between increased age and decreased oxygen saturation in non-obese geriatric patients without vascular risk factors. This retrospective study included 195 patients who underwent polysomnography (PSG). Participants were divided into two groups according to age:   0.05). After adjusting for BMI, univariate and multivariate analyses revealed that 3% desaturation and total hypopnea duration were significantly independently correlated with age (p < 0.001 and p = 0.03, respectively). This retrospective study revealed that hypopnea followed by 3% desaturation was more common in geriatric individuals. These findings suggest that geriatric individuals are in a chronic hypoxic state regardless of OSA, BMI, and sex, which is likely to be due to the physiological effects of aging.