The relationship between obstructive sleep apnea and asthma severity and vice versa: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Apr 03, 2023

Experts: Donghao Wang,Yanyan Zhou,Riken Chen,Xiangxia Zeng,Sun Zhang,Xiaofen Su,Yateng Luo,Yongkang Tang,Shiwei Li,Zhiyang Zhuang,Dongxing Zhao,Yingying Ren,Nuofu Zhang

There is a great association between the prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and asthma. Nonetheless, whether OSA impacts lung function, symptoms, and control in asthma and whether asthma increases the respiratory events in OSA are unknown. This meta-analysis aimed to examine the relationship between obstructive sleep apnea and asthma severity and vice versa.
We carried out a systematic search of PubMed, EMBASE, and Scopus from inception to September 2022. Primary outcomes were lung function, parameters of polysomnography, the risk of OSA in more severe or difficult-to-control asthmatic patients, and the risk of asthma in patients with more severe OSA. Heterogeneity was examined with the Q test and I statistics. We also performed subgroup analysis, Meta-regression, and Egger’s test for bias analysis.
34 studies with 27,912 subjects were totally included. The results showed that the comorbidity of OSA aggravated lung function in asthmatic patients with a consequent decreased forced expiratory volume in one second %predicted (%FEV1) and the effect was particularly evident in children. %FEV1 tended to decrease in adult asthma patients complicated with OSA, but did not reach statistical significance. Interestingly, the risk of asthma seemed to be slightly lower in patients with more severe OSA (OR = 0.87, 95%CI 0.763-0.998). Asthma had no significant effect on polysomnography, but increased daytime sleepiness assessed by the Epworth Sleepiness Scale in OSA patients (WMD = 0.60, 95%CI 0.16-1.04). More severe asthma or difficult-to-control asthma was independently associated with OSA (odds ratio (OR) = 4.36, 95%CI 2.49-7.64).
OSA was associated with more severe or difficult-to-control asthma with decreased %FEV in children. The effect of OSA on lung function in adult patients should be further confirmed. Asthma increased daytime sleepiness in OSA patients. More studies are warranted to investigate the effect of asthma on OSA severity and the impact of different OSA severity on the prevalence of asthma. It is strongly recommended that people with moderate-to-severe or difficult-to-control asthma screen for OSA and get the appropriate treatment.

© 2023. The Author(s).

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ABOUT THE EXPERTS

Donghao Wang,Yanyan Zhou,Riken Chen,Xiangxia Zeng,Sun Zhang,Xiaofen Su,Yateng Luo,Yongkang Tang,Shiwei Li,Zhiyang Zhuang,Dongxing Zhao,Yingying Ren,Nuofu Zhang

Donghao Wang

Sleep Medicine Center, State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, 510120, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China.

Yanyan Zhou

Sleep Medicine Center, State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, 510120, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China.

Riken Chen

Sleep Medicine Center, State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, 510120, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China.

Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Medical University, Zhanjiang, People’s Republic of China.

Xiangxia Zeng

Sleep Medicine Center, State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, 510120, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China.

Sun Zhang

Sleep Medicine Center, State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, 510120, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China.

Xiaofen Su

Sleep Medicine Center, State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, 510120, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China.

Yateng Luo

Sleep Medicine Center, State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, 510120, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China.

Yongkang Tang

Sleep Medicine Center, State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, 510120, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China.

Shiwei Li

Sleep Medicine Center, State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, 510120, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China.

Zhiyang Zhuang

Sleep Medicine Center, State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, 510120, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China.

Dongxing Zhao

Sleep Medicine Center, State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, 510120, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China.

Yingying Ren

Medical Records Management Department, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, 510120, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China. renyingying1028@163.com.

Nuofu Zhang

Sleep Medicine Center, State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, 510120, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China. nfzhanggird@163.com.