Age, BMI predict obstructive sleep apnea treatment success

(HealthDay)—Among patients with obstructive sleep apnea, older age and reduced body mass index (BMI) are predictors of upper airway stimulation (UAS) treatment response, according to a study published online Nov. 28 in the European Respiratory Journal.

Clemens Heiser, M.D., from Munich Technical University in Germany, and colleagues sought to identify predictors of UAS therapy response in a multicenter registry of 508 patients who underwent UAS implantation in the United States and Germany between October 2016 and January 2018.

The researchers found that the median apnea/hypopnea index reduced from 34 to seven events/hour⁻¹, while the median Epworth sleepiness scale score reduced from 12 to 7 from baseline to 12 months postimplant. For each one-year increase in age, there was a 4 percent increase in the odds of treatment success in post hoc analyses, while there was 9 percent reduced odds of treatment success for each one-unit increase in BMI. Age persisted as a statistically significant predictor of treatment success in multivariable analyses.

"In this largest international report to date, we have for the first time identified ways to predict who will be successfully treated with this obstructive sleep apnea treatment," a coauthor said in a statement.

Several authors disclosed financial ties to the medical device industry.

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