Role of sleep apnea‐specific hypoxic burden and sleep breathing impairment index in assessing cognitive impairment in obstructive sleep apnea adults

Abstract Purpose This study aimed to analyze the effectiveness of sleep apnea‐specific hypoxic burden (SASHB) and sleep disordered breathing index (SBII) in assessing cognitive dysfunction in adults with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and to compare them with the apnea‐hypopnea index (AHI). Methods The clinical data of 100 adult OSA patients aged 18–59 years admitted to the Department of Otorhinolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi 'an Jiaotong University, from December 2023 to December 2024 were retrospectively collected and divided into mild, moderate, and severe OSA groups according to AHI. Results In terms of cognitive assessment, there were significant differences in MoCA scores between the two groups ( p < 0.001). Correlation analysis showed that AHI, SASHB and SBII were negatively correlated with MoCA score, and the correlation between SASHB and SBII was stronger after excluding confounding factors. SBII (AUC = 0.846) and SASHB (AUC = 0.835) were better than AHI (AUC = 0.662) in evaluating cognitive function. Conclusion SASHB and SBII are more important in assessing cognitive dysfunction in adults with OSA, and may be important indicators for assessing cognitive impairment in OSA patients. In the future, larger prospective studies are needed to clarify further the relationship between SASHB, SBII and cognitive function.