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OBJECTIVE To investigate the various clinical presentations of sleep-disordered breathing in women. METHODS A retrospective case-control study. METHODS A sleep disorders clinic. METHODS 334 women, aged 18 years and older, seen between 1988 and 1993, who were diagnosed with upper airway sleep-disordered breathing. Controls were 60 women with insomnia and 100 men with sleep-disordered breathing. METHODS Clinical, anatomic, and polygraphic information. RESULTS The mean lag time (+/- SD) in women between the appearance of symptoms and a positive diagnosis was 9.7 +/- 3.1 years; among participants 30 to 60 years of age, the duration of untreated symptoms differed (P < 0.001) between women and men. Sleep-disordered breathing was blamed for divorce or social isolation by 40% of the case patients. Abnormal maxillomandibular features were noted in 45% of the women with disordered breathing. Dysmenorrhea and amenorrhea (which disappeared after treatment with nasal continuous positive airway pressure) were reported in 43% of premenopausal women compared with 13% of persons in the control group of women with insomnia. Thirty-eight women (11.4%) with upper airway sleep-disordered breathing had a respiratory disturbance index of less than 5 and were significantly younger, had a smaller neck circumference, and had a lower body mass index than women with a respiratory disturbance index of 5 or more. CONCLUSIONS Physicians should revise their understanding of upper airway sleep-disordered breathing so that they notice women with certain craniofacial features, a low body mass index, a small neck circumference, and a respiratory disturbance index of less than 5. These revisions may enable more rapid diagnosis and treatment of women with sleep-disordered breathing.
C Guilleminault, and
R Stoohs, and
Y D Kim, and
R Chervin, and
J Black, and
A Clerk
June 2014,
Acta neurologica Belgica,
C Guilleminault, and
R Stoohs, and
Y D Kim, and
R Chervin, and
J Black, and
A Clerk
June 2003,
Otolaryngologic clinics of North America,
C Guilleminault, and
R Stoohs, and
Y D Kim, and
R Chervin, and
J Black, and
A Clerk
February 2014,
Minerva medica,
C Guilleminault, and
R Stoohs, and
Y D Kim, and
R Chervin, and
J Black, and
A Clerk
November 2009,
Oral and maxillofacial surgery clinics of North America,
C Guilleminault, and
R Stoohs, and
Y D Kim, and
R Chervin, and
J Black, and
A Clerk
August 2002,
American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine,
C Guilleminault, and
R Stoohs, and
Y D Kim, and
R Chervin, and
J Black, and
A Clerk
April 2019,
Expert review of respiratory medicine,
C Guilleminault, and
R Stoohs, and
Y D Kim, and
R Chervin, and
J Black, and
A Clerk
April 2009,
The Laryngoscope,
C Guilleminault, and
R Stoohs, and
Y D Kim, and
R Chervin, and
J Black, and
A Clerk
September 2003,
American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine,
C Guilleminault, and
R Stoohs, and
Y D Kim, and
R Chervin, and
J Black, and
A Clerk
February 2006,
The European respiratory journal,
C Guilleminault, and
R Stoohs, and
Y D Kim, and
R Chervin, and
J Black, and
A Clerk
January 2016,
European clinical respiratory journal,
