The Prevalence of sleep apnea and hypopnea syndrome among patients with recent diagnosis of hypertension: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Introduction: Sleep apnea and hypopnea syndrome (SAHS) is a very prevalent disorder that has severe consequences if it is not correctly treated. However, there is still an important SAHS underdiagnose. One of the most studied associations among SAHS patients is hypertension, which is also related to the severity of the disease. Justification: At present, there is no evidence about the real prevalence of SAHS in patients diagnosed of recent hypertension. All data come from studies that determine SAHS prevalence in long-term hypertension. If a high sleep respiratory disorders prevalence among those patients is found, we would be able to propose therapeutic strategies for SAHS when a patient would be diagnosed of hypertension. As a result, we would be able to avoid morbidity and mortality of untreated SAHS. Objectives: The main objective of this study is to quantify the prevalence of patients with SAHS who have been diagnosed as having recent hypertension (less than one year) in primary care. The secondary objective is to analyze the prevalence of SAHS among the different stages of recent hypertension. Methodology: A 16-month, observational, cross-sectional study including 246 patients will be carried out in the primary care centers of Girona and in its tertiary university referral hospital (Hospital Universitari Doctor Josep Trueta). The participants will be the patients selected from a computerized medical record (ECAP) diagnosed of hypertension during the last year in one of these primary care centers. We will stratify the sample by age and gender. The main variable will be the presence of SAHS. We will perform a polygraphy (ApneaLink©) to all the participants, and so we will measure the prevalence of SAHS among them and the prevalence of SAHS by hypertension severity groups, with a descriptive analysis and a bivariate analysis, respectively. In order to avoid potential confounders, we will perform a multivariate analysis adjusted for the covariates