In a community-based cohort (N=1,586), severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) was linked with increased risk for hospitalization with pneumonia, according to a study published in CHEST. During 1996-1998, Pamela L. Lutsey, PhD, MPH, and colleagues conducted polysomnography on participants in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study who were followed through 2018 for infection-related hospitalization. The researchers used the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) to categorize patients as having mild OSA, moderate OSA, severe OSA, or a normal breathing pattern. Normal breathing was observed in 51.3% of participants, mild OSA in 30.0%, moderate OSA in 12.7%, and severe OSA in 6.0%. During a median follow-up of 20.4 years, 253 hospitalizations with pneumonia occurred. Compared with those with a normal breathing pattern after adjustment for demographics and lifestyle behaviors, those with severe OSA were at 1.87 times higher risk for hospitalization with pneumonia. With respiratory infection and composite infection, a similar hospitalization pattern existed. After adjustment for BMI and prevalent asthma and COPD, results were reduced modestly.
