Sleep apnea syndrome (ICD-10-GM 47.31: Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome) involves pauses in breathing during sleep that result from obstruction of the airway and often occur several hundred times per night. By definition, the pauses in breathing must last at least 10 seconds for sleep apnea syndrome to be suspected.
The following two subgroups are among the most common forms of sleep disordered breathing (SBAS):
- Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) (synonyms: obstructive sleep apnea (OSA); obstructive sleep apnea syndrome; sleep apnea, obstructive; sleep apnea syndrome, obstructive; ICD-10 G47.31: Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome) – characterized by obstruction or complete obstruction of the upper airway during sleep; most common form of sleep apnea (90% of cases)
- Central sleep apnea syndrome (ZSAS) (ICD-10 GM 47.30: Central sleep apnea syndrome) – characterized by repeated respiratory arrests due to lack of activation of respiratory muscles; 10% of cases.
- In addition, various mixed forms of the two groups still exist.
The most common is the obstructive or mixed sleep apnea.
Gender ratio: Men are more often affected than women.
Frequency peak: The disease occurs in men mainly in middle age and in women mostly after menopause (menopause in women).
Children can also be affected. Here, the cause is usually hyperplasia (enlargement) of the pharyngeal or palatine tonsils.
The prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea is 7-14% of the male population and 2-7% of adult women.
Course and prognosis: Due to the breathing pauses, the affected persons have a lack of oxygen, which makes them sleep poorly. Thus, patients are tired during the day. The fatigue can lead to the compulsion to fall asleep (microsleep). Furthermore, sleep apnea syndrome can lead to various secondary diseases (e.g., hypertension, coronary heart disease). Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy is used for treatment, i.e., the affected person is ventilated at night with positive pressure via a breathing mask (see CPAP below).
Comorbidities: In 50 % of patients, OSAS is associated with depressive and anxiety symptoms. This effect is particularly pronounced in patients with moderate and severe depression.Other comorbidities include headache, cognitive deficits (mild cognitive impairment, MCI), cardiac arrhythmias (including atrial fibrillation (AF) and sinus arrhythmias/AV blocks), apoplexy, epilepsy (of treatability), nonrestorative sleep with daytime sleepiness, and increased daytime sleepiness.
