Gender differences between OSA severity regarding pectoralis muscle area and indices

<bold>Background:</bold> A limited number of studies have examined sarcopenia in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Sarcopenia varies depending on age, gender and disease. OSA related sarcopenia has been a new complex topic to explore. The object of this study was to identify differences between genders with varying degrees of OSA regarding sarcopenia. <bold>Methods:</bold> A retrospective cross sectional study was conducted in Medeniyet University Sleep Medicine Laboratory. Clinical and sleep data were recorded. Pectoralis muscle area (PMA) was measured retrospectively on a single axial slice of the chest CT scan above the aortic arc and processed using 3D Slicer software. <bold>Results:</bold> The study sample consisted of total 148 OSA patients with 65,5 % being male. Age, height, BMI, neck circumference (NC), NoSAS score, REM AHI and pectoralis muscle area (PMA) with indexes were significantly different between genders. Females were older and have higher BMI than the male patients (Age, 50 ± 13,06 vs 55,71 ± 10,66; BMI, 33,13 ± 5,81 vs 38,68 ± 10,01, male and female respectively). There was a substantial difference in PMA and indices across genders (PMA 4987,253 ± 1377,105 vs 3617,485 ± 1285,667, PMA/NC 117,76 ± 33,52 vs 93,61 ± 33,83, male and female respectively)(Figure 1). In multivariate analysis, obesity, lower PMA and lower NoSas score were independently associated with female OSA patients. <bold>Conclusion:</bold> The current study identifies gender differences in OSA patients. Although the prevalence of OSA is rising among women classical approaches may not be valid for management of the disease in females.