Clinical and Polysomnographic Characteristics in Rapid Eye Movement-Related Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Background and Objectives：To evaluate the clinical and polysomnographic features of rapid eye movement (REM)-related obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Subjects and Method：185 consecutive OSA patients were classified as having REM and non-REM OSA. Subjective symptoms, anthropometric and polysomnographic characteristics between REM OSAS and non-REM OSAS patients were compared. Results：Thirty-eight of the 185 patients (20.5%) were classified as REM OSA, and 147 pa-tients (79.5%) were classified as non-REM OSA. Ninety five percent of the REM OSA patients belonged to the mild or moderate OSA group. The dominant occurrence of apnea and hypopnea in REM sleep did notseem to affect subjective symptoms and day-time sleepiness. Anthropometric and polysomnographic features did not help to differentiate REM OSA from non-REM OSA. Conclusion：REM OSA may not be a separate and specific disease entity of OSA. (Korean J Otorhinolaryngol-Head Neck Surg 2009;52:36-40