Research Information System University of Greifswald

Krüger M*¹, Obst A², Ittermann T³, Bernhardt O⁴, Ivanovska T, Zygmunt M⁵, Ewert R⁶, Fietze I, Penzel T, Biffar R¹, Daboul A¹

1 - Zentrum für Zahn-, Mund- und Kieferheilkunde / Poliklinik für Zahnärztliche Prothetik, Alterszahnheilkunde und Medizinische Werkstoffkunde

2 - Zentrum für Innere Medizin / Klinik für Innere Medizin B / Pulmologie

3 - Institut für Community Medicine / Abt. SHIP KEF

4 - Zentrum für Zahn-, Mund- und Kieferheilkunde / Poliklinik für Zahnerhaltung,Parodontologie, Endodontologie; Präventive Zahnmedizin und Kinderzahnheilkunde

5 - Klinik und Poliklinik für Frauenheilkunde und Geburtshilfe

6 - Zentrum für Innere Medizin / Klinik für Innere Medizin B

Objective Menopause is associated with multiple health risks. In several studies a higher incidence or a higher risk for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in post-menopausal than pre-menopausal women is reported. This study was designed to verify such a connection between menopause and OSA in a population-based sample. Methods For a subsample (N = 1,209) of the Study of Health in Pomerania (N = 4,420) complete polysomnography data was available. Of these, 559 females completed a structured interview about their menstrual cycle. Splines and ordinal regression analysis were used to analyze the resulting data. Results In an ordinal regression analysis, a significant association between the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) and the menopause indicated that post-menopausal women had a substantial higher risk of OSA. In accordance with previous studies risk indicators as body-mass-index (BMI), age, and the influence of hysterectomies or total oophorectomies were included in the model. Conclusion Our results clearly confirmed the assumed connection between the menopause and OSA. This is important because OSA is most often associated with male patients and it warrants further research in the underlying mechanisms.