Higher Mortality Patterns recorded with Central Sleep Apnea compared to Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Written By : Aditi |Medically Reviewed By : Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli Published On 2023-04-02T20:00:01+05:30 | Updated On 2 April 2023 8:00 PM IST

United States: A study published in the Annals of American Thoracic Society has concluded that the highest predictors of mortality in central sleep apnea (CSA) were Heart failure (HF) presence, cerebrovascular disease history and hemiplegia. The researchers found male sex predilection and being underweight were also among the mortality predictors in CSA. Compared to obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), CSA has higher mortality.

It is already known that CSA is strongly associated with high mortality. This research background is based on studies with limited sample sizes and homogeneous populations like HF.

Addressing this research gap further, researchers compared the mortality pattern and time to death between the CSA and OSA patients in the large Veterans Health Administration patient population. In the study, a big data analytic approach was used. A machine-learning algorithm determined the most critical predictor of time to death.

The study results could be summarised as follows:

The total number of patients in CSA and OSA were 2961 and 1,487,353, respectively.
CSA patients were older than OSA-grouped patients.
More death was reported in CSA-grouped patients, 25.1%, than those with OSA constituting 14.9 %.
The adjusted HR was 1.53.
Those with a history of HF, hemiplegia, and a BMI less than 18.5 were among the highest predictors of mortality in CSA.
As per subgroup analysis, HF presence was associated with increased mortality in CSA with HR, 7.4, and OSA with HR, 4.3.

Concluding further, Clinically diagnosed Central Sleep Apnea was associated with a shorter time to death from the index diagnostic date. Within five years of diagnosis, nearly one-fifth of CSA patients died.

In this study, the researchers have high-pointed the highest predictors of mortality in CSA and found it to be more strongly associated with higher mortality than OSA, independent of associated comorbidity.

BDS, MDS in Periodontics and Implantology

Dr. Aditi Yadav is a BDS, MDS in Periodontics and Implantology. She has a clinical experience of 5 years as a laser dental surgeon. She also has a Diploma in clinical research and pharmacovigilance and is a Certified data scientist. She is currently working as a content developer in e-health services. Dr. Yadav has a keen interest in Medical Journalism and is actively involved in Medical Research writing.

Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli

Dr Kamal Kant Kohli-MBBS, DTCD- a chest specialist with more than 30 years of practice and a flair for writing clinical articles, Dr Kamal Kant Kohli joined Medical Dialogues as a Chief Editor of Medical News. Besides writing articles, as an editor, he proofreads and verifies all the medical content published on Medical Dialogues including those coming from journals, studies,medical conferences,guidelines etc. Email: drkohli@medicaldialogues.in. Contact no. 011-43720751