RISK OF OBSTRUCTIVE SLEEP APNEA AMONG PRIMARY HEALTH CARE CENTERS VISITORS IN TAIF CITY

Background: obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a breathing disorder that studies showed that it negatively impacts several chronic morbidities. The prevalence of OSA in Saudi Arabia was estimated to be 12.8 percent for males and 5.1 percent in females. Primary Health Care (PHC) visitors have higher prevalence of chronic morbidities. Our aim is to estimate the risk of OSA among this population.

Methods: Cross-sectional interview base design. PHC visitors in Taif, Saudi Arabia who are 18 years old or older were included. We used the STOP-Bang scoring model to assess the risk of OSA.

Results: This study included 350 PHC visitors. The mean age was 55 ± 15, 57.7% were males. 38.3% have high risk of OSA. Increasing risk of OSA was significantly associated with type 2 diabetes (T2D) (p<0.001), each diabetic retinopathy and neuropathy (p<0.001) and coronary artery disease (p<0.001) and sedentary lifestyle (p=0.017).

Conclusion: High risk of OSA is prevalent in PHC visitors in Taif, Saudi Arabia using the STOP-Bang scoring model. T2D, diabetic retinopathy, diabetic neuropathy and CAD are significantly associated with increasing risk of OSA. More research is needed to identify the prevalence of OSA in this population, to define the nature of these associations and to study OSA impact on them.

Key words: Obstructive sleep apnea; Taif; Saudi Arabia; Primary Health Care; Screening