Effect of Smoking on Parameters of Polysomnography

Background and Objective: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) syndrome is a kind of sleep-related disorder with complex features and may lead to daytime sleepiness. This study aimed to find the differences between smokers and non-smokers regarding the parameters of polysomnography. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted on consecutive patients referred to a sleep lab to perform polysomnography for sleep-related breathing disorders in Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences in 2014. For all participants, overnight polysomnography study was performed for at least 6 hours. Then, parameters of polysomnography were compared between smokers and non-smokers. Data were analyzed by SPSS using chi-square test, Student’s t-test, Mann–Whitney U-test, and logistic regression analysis. Results: In total, 228 subjects were enrolled in the study (155 non-smokers). Obstructive apnea number and index, total apnea number, apnea-hypopnea index (AHI), baseline and average saturation by pulse oximeter, snore, and snore arousal were significantly different between smokers and non-smokers (P 0.050). Severe OSA was the most commonly observed among smokers, but AHI was not significantly correlated with pack-years of smoking. Conclusion: The results of this study showed that smokers suffer from severe OSA more frequent than nonsmokers; obstructive apnea is more common among smokers with higher AHI.