Association between obstructive sleep apnea and physical activity

Obstructive sleep apnea causes various psychological and physical complications, reduces productivity, and increases vehicle accidents. This study investigated the association of obstructive sleep apnea with the level of physical activity. In this cross-sectional study, people who referred to a specialized occupational medicine clinic were enrolled by simple random method. After applying the entry criteria, participants completed package including demographic and occupational data, the IPAQ International Activity Questionnaire, the ESS daily sleepiness assessment and the STOP-BANG (SB) questionnaire. Fasting blood glucose and lipid profiles were measured and divided into two groups according to the score of SB questionnaire. Totally 126 participants were enrolled and the mean age was 36.85 ± 9.88 years. There were 65 subjects(52%) high risk to obstructive sleep apnea and 61 non- cases (48%). The group with SB score less than 3 was significantly more frequent. Glucose, triglyceride and LDL levels were significantly higher in obstructive sleep group (p<0.05). Participants with low physical activity had significantly higher chance of obstructive apnea (OR = 9.6, 95% CI 1.1–78.8berr In addition, rotational shift decreased the odds of obstructive sleep apnea to 0.17 and Individuals with ESS more than 10 carried higher odds of obstructive sleep apnea. There was a significant relationship between the severity of obstructive sleep apnea and physical activity. Exercise and daily activities in people who are prone to disease as well as patients with a disease can help to prevent and improve apnea and its subsequent complications.