Purpose: Persistent allergic rhinitis (PAR) is characterized by a chronic, eosinophilic inflammation with nasal congestion and rhinorrhea. Nasal congestion can constitute to sleep-disordered breathing problems that range from simple snoring to obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS). The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of PAR on sleep quality and severity of OSAS.
Methods: The study included 150 patients presenting with typical symptoms of sleep apnea. Fifty-five patients were diagnosed as PAR (group-1) and were compared with age and body mass index matched 95 individuals (group-2) without any nasal disease. Skin prick tests and polysomnography were performed in all patients.
Results: There were no differences between groups for polysomnographic findings including sleep architecture, arousal and respiratory index, and mean and minimal oxygen saturations. Simple snoring was determined in 41.8 % allergic and 32.6 % non-allergic patients. Mild OSAS was determined in 32.7 % allergic and 29.4 % non-allergic patients. Moderate OSAS was determined in 9 % allergic and 17.8 % non-allergic patients. Severe OSAS was determined in 16.3 % allergic and 20 % non-allergic patients. Their entire Epworth sleepiness scale index was also found similar.
Conclusions: Our data pointed out that in patients with sleep-related breathing disorders symptoms, presence of PAR does not affect polysomnographic parameters compared with other patients without any nasal inflammation. Besides, prevalence of OSAS was similar between groups.
Keywords: Allergic rhinitis; Apnea-hypopnea index; OSAS; Polysomnography.