The Relationship between Sleep Apnea and Pulmonary Function in Workers of One of the Aluminum Industries

Document Type : Original Article(s)

Authors

1 Assistant Professor, Department of Occupational Medicine, School of Medicine, Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences, Bandar Abbas, Iran

2 Department of Occupational Medicine, School of Medicine, Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences, Bandar Abbas, Iran

3 Associate Professor, Occupational Health, Hormozgan University Medical Sciences, Bandar Abbas, Iran

4 Associate Professor, Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health and Safety, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

5 Assistant Professor, Occupational Health, Hormozgan University Medical Sciences, Bandar Abbas, Iran

Abstract

Background: Respiratory sleep disorder is one of the most common sleep disorders. The aim of this study was to investigate the factors affecting sleep apnea in workers working in one of the aluminum industries.
Methods: This descriptive-analytical study was conducted in one of the aluminum industries in the south of Iran in 2021. The lung capacity of the workers was assessed according to the guidelines of the American Association of Lung Specialists. Berlin questionnaires were used to assess obstructive sleep apnea. Data were analyzed using T-test, Pearson correlation coefficient, and multiple logistic regression.
Findings: In this study, 152 workers in the aluminum industry with an average age of 33.63 ± 6.34 years and a body mass index of 25.06 ± 3.07 participated. 34.9% of workers were at high risk for obstructive sleep apnea. Age (OR = 1.23, 95% CI = 1.08-1.37), body mass index (OR = 1.57, 95% CI = 1.18-2.08), and FEV1 / FVC (OR = 0.76, 95% CI = 0.59-0.98) were significantly associated with an increased risk of sleep apnea (P < 0.001)
Conclusion: Workers, in the aluminum industry, have a higher risk of developing obstructive sleep apnea. Age, body mass index, and FEV1 / FVC are the main predictors of sleep apnea. These variables should be considered in the screening tests and clinical trials.

Keywords

Main Subjects


  1. Garbarino S, Guglielmi O, Sanna A, Mancardi GL, Magnavita N. Risk of occupational Accidents in workers with obstructive sleep apnea: systematic review and meta-analysis. Sleep 2016; 39(6): 1211-8.
  2. Heinzer R, Vat S, Marques-Vidal P, Marti-Soler H, Andries D, Tobback N, et al. Prevalence of sleep-disordered breathing in the general population: the HypnoLaus study. Lancet Respir Med 2015; 3(4): 310-8.
  3. Chung F, Ward B, Ho J, Yuan H, Kayumov L, Shapiro C. Preoperative identification of sleep apnea risk in elective surgical patients, using the Berlin questionnaire. J Clin Anesth 2007; 19(2): 130-4.
  4. Dong Z, Xu X, Wang C, Cartledge S, Maddison R, Shariful Islam SM. Association of overweight and obesity with obstructive sleep apnoea: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Obesity Medicine 2020; 17: 100185.
  5. Mehfooz N, Siraj F, Shabir A, Mantoo S, Shah TH, Hafiz U, et al. Spirometric abnormalities in patients with sleep-related breathing disorders. J Family Med Prim Care 2021; 10(2): 1009-14.
  6. Neophytou AM, Costello S, Picciotto S, Noth EM, Liu S, Lutzker L, et al. Accelerated lung function decline in an aluminium manufacturing industry cohort exposed to PM(2.5): an application of the parametric g-formula. Occup Environ Med 2019; 76(12): 888-94.
  7. Culver BH, Graham BL, Coates AL, Wanger J, Berry CE, Clarke PK, et al. Recommendations for a standardized pulmonary function report. An official American Thoracic Society technical statement. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2017; 196(11): 1463-72.
  8. Johns MW. A new method for measuring daytime sleepiness: the Epworth sleepiness scale. Sleep 1991; 14(6): 540-5.
  9. Amra B, Golshan M, Fietze I, Penzel T, Welte T. Correlation between chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and obstructive sleep apnea syndrome in a general population in Iran. J Res Med Sci 2011; 16(7): 885.
  10. Garbarino S, Magnavita N. Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS), metabolic syndrome and mental health in small enterprise workers. Feasibility of an action for health. PLoS One 2014; 9(5): e97188.
  11. Pinto AM, Devaraj U, Ramachandran P, Joseph B, D'Souza GA. Obstructive sleep apnea in a rural population in South India: Feasibility of health care workers to administer level III sleep study. Lung India 2018; 35(4): 301-6.
  12. Koyama RG, Esteves AM, e Silva LO, Lira FS, Bittencourt LR, Tufik S, et al. Prevalence of and risk factors for obstructive sleep apnea syndrome in Brazilian railroad workers. Sleep Med 2012; 13(8): 1028-32.
  13. Saad AMJ, Hiyasat D, Jaddou H, Obeidat N. The prevalence of high risk obstructive sleep apnoea among patients with type 2 diabetes in Jordan. Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice 2019; 152: 16-22.
  14. Yoshimura C, Oga T, Chin K, Takegami M, Takahashi K-i, Sumi K, et al. Relationships of decreased lung function with metabolic syndrome and obstructive sleep apnea in Japanese males. Intern Med 2012; 51(17): 2291-7.
  15. Kostrzewska M, Trafas T, Bromińska B, Batura-Gabryel H, Michalak S, Brajer-Luftmann B, et al. Airway obstruction in sleep apnea patients. Adv Exp Med Biol 2019. 113: 11-7.
  16. Rouatbi S, Ghannouchi I, Kammoun R, Ben Saad H. The ventilatory and diffusion dysfunctions in obese patients with and without obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome. J Obes 2020;
  17. Wang D, Smith D, Huang H-C, Murray N, Thomas P. Spirometry to Identify Moderate to Severe Obstructive Sleep Apnea. Am J Respir Care Med; 2020; 201: A4142.
  18. Ntalapascha M, Makris D, Kyparos A, Tsilioni I, Kostikas K, Gourgoulianis K, et al. Oxidative stress in patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. Sleep and Breathing 2013; 17(2): 549-55.
  19. Borekci S, Sekibag Y, Harbiyeli DO, Musellim B. The frequency of obstructive sleep apnea in patients with non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis. Turk Thorac J
    2021; 22(4): 333-8.
  20. Fietze I, Laharnar N, Obst A, Ewert R, Felix SB, Garcia C, et al. Prevalence and association analysis of obstructive sleep apnea with gender and age differences–Results of SHIP‐ J Sleep Res 2019; 28(5): e12770.
  21. Huang T, Lin BM, Markt SC, Stampfer MJ, Laden F, Hu FB, et al. Sex differences in the associations of obstructive sleep apnoea with epidemiological factors. Eur Respir J 2018; 51(3): 1702421.
  22. Rezaeetalab F, Mirsadraee M, Dehestani V, Rezaeetalab F, Asadpour H, Akhlaghi S. Evaluation of relationship between apnea-hypopnea index and body mass index in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease pulmonary disease research center-Mashhad university of medical sciences [in Persian]. Med J Mashad Univ Med Sci 2012; 55(1): 41-5.