Abstract

Objective: Little is known about obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) in sub-Saharan Africa. Effective diagnostic tools are still scarce and expensive in this region. Our study aimed to assess the prevalence and factors associated to the high risk of OSAHS (HR-OSAHS) in a sub-Saharan African population.

Methods: This cross sectional study was conducted from November 2015 to May 2016 in Yaoundé, the capital of Cameroon. Adults aged >16 years were recruited from 4 districts and 4 administrative buildings. Data were collected during a face-to-face interview. The HROSAHS was defined by a STOPBANG score ≥3. Logistic regression was used to determine the HR-OSAHS associated factors via adjusted odds ratio (aOR), with a significance level of 5%. Data were digitized and analyzed using Epi data version 3.1 and Stata version 12.0 respectively.

Results: Four hundreds persons were enrolled in the study. Their Mean age was 34.8±11.2 years and 228 of them (57%) were men. All of the participants lived in Yaoundé and its surroundings and 2/3 had a sedentary activity profile. The most common symptoms (with more than 30% of frequency each) were decreased concentration (44.5%), daytime sleepiness (39.7%) and arousals (39.0%), daytime asthenia (33.2%), snoring (30.5%) and morning headache (30.2%). The HR-OSAHS prevalence was 24.5% (20.5 - 28.9)%. Its associated factors [OR (95% confidence interval), p-value] were Mallampati score ≥3 [4.8 (2.2, 10.2), <0.001], parents hypertension [2.6 (1.5, 4.4), <0.001], macroglossia [2.2 (1.2, 4.0), 0.007], decreased libido [1.9 (1.1, 3.5), 0.033] and insomnia [1.7 (1.3, 3.1), 0.051].

Conclusion: HR-OSAHS is common in this urban sub-Saharan African population, and its associated factors are consistent with OSAHS features. This suggests a good sensitivity of the STOPBANG in this population.

Keywords

high risk, OSAHS, prevalence, associated factors, Cameroon, STOPBANG