Evaluation of retinal nerve fiber layer thickness in patients with obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome

Abstract

AIM: To compare the retinal nerve fiber layer(RNFL)thickness in patients with different severities of obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome(OSAHS)versus normal controls. METHODS: This was an observational case-control study. Totally 79 patients presenting with snoring and daytime sleepiness who underwent overnight polysomnography(PSG)to determine OSAHS severity were recruited, and subsequently referred for ophthalmologic evaluation. The data including intraocular pressure(IOP), RNFL thickness etc was collected.RESULTS: A total of 73 subjects were recruited, including 53 patients with OSAHS and 20 normal control subjects. IOP was significantly higher for the moderate and severe OSAHS group than for the control group(both PPr=-0.316, -0.205; both Pr=-0.24, P=0.005). Positive correlations were identified between SaO2 on PSG and RNFL thickness in the superior quadrants(r=0.277, P=0.001). CONCLUSION: RNFL of the patients with OSAHS is thinned. Furthermore, it is observed that the greater severity of OSAHS, the greater the loss of RNFL. Among the four quadrants observed, the most affected quadrant was the superior quadrant.

Keywords

• obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome
• retinal nerve fiber layer
• intraocular pressure
• intraocular pressure