The following is a summary of “Predictors of moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea in patients with lung cancer,” published in the May 2024 issue of Pulmonology by Zidan et al.
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a well-recognized medical condition linked to numerous comorbidities that significantly impact patients’ quality of life. Despite the ongoing debate surrounding the association between OSA and lung cancer, several studies have indicated an increased prevalence of OSA in patients with lung cancer. Thus, the objective was to explore the predictors of moderate-to-severe OSA in this patient population.
The researchers conducted a comprehensive study involving 153 newly diagnosed adult patients with lung cancer. Utilizing home sleep apnea devices, the study group performed cardiorespiratory monitoring to assess OSA severity. Through univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses, they evaluated various parameters, including age, gender, smoking status, neck circumference, waist circumference, body mass index (BMI), lung cancer stage and histopathology, presence of superior vena cava obstruction, and performance status, to identify factors independently associated with moderate-to-severe OSA diagnosis.
The findings reveal that poor performance status emerged as the most significant predictor of moderate to severe OSA among patients with lung cancer, even after accounting for important confounding variables.
In the study population of Middle Eastern ethnicity, performance status emerges as a robust predictor of moderate to severe OSA in lung cancer patients. This underscores the importance of considering performance status as a potential indicator of OSA severity in lung cancer management.
Source: respiratory-research.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12931-024-02789-z