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Table 2 Main characteristics of included studies investigating the risk of asthma in patients with varying severity of OSA

From: The relationship between obstructive sleep apnea and asthma severity and vice versa: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Author, year, Country

Population

Co-exist Asthma

AgeΦ (years)

BMIΦ (kg/cm2)

Male gender (%)

Study design, Quality of study

Severity of asthma

Results and implications

Robichaud-Hallé et al. 2012 [36]

Canada

N = 48 (Severe OSA group)

9

55.5

33.9 (7.4)

65

Cross-sectional,

AHRQ = 7

Routine

Severe OSA is associated with severe multimorbidity and sub-scores of multimorbidity, including asthma

N = 36 (Moderate OSA group)

13

Gutierrez et al. 2013 [37]

USA

N = 57 (Moderate/severe OSA group)

24

6.1 (0.3)

20.1 (0.6)

60.3

Cross-sectional,

AHRQ = 7

Routine

Asthma is associated with REM-related breathing abnormalities in children with moderate-severe OSA. The link between asthma and REM-related OSA is independent of asthma control and obesity

N = 84 (Mild OSA group)

38

Greenberg-Dotan et al. 2014 [30]

Israel

N = 593 (Severe OSA group)

50

55.5 (11.1)

N/A

76.5

Cross-sectional,

AHRQ = 7

Routine

Patients with asthma and combined COPD/asthma showed no difference in the risks of these co-morbidities between those with and without OSA

N = 445 (Moderate OSA group)

44

Pinto et al. 2016 [38]

Brazil

N = 50 (Severe OSA group)

4

50.1 (12.9)

29.0 (5.0)

84

Cross-sectional,

AHRQ = 7

Routine

In the study, only 4% of patients had asthma associated with OSA, although it has not presented expressive values; only patients with severe apnea had associated asthma

N = 34 (Moderate OSA group)

0

Tamanyan et al. 2016 [39]

Australia

N = 75 (Moderate/severe OSA group)

19

6.8 (3.2)

N/A

58.9

Cross-sectional,

AHRQ = 7

Not mentioned

In addition to ethnicity (non-Caucasian) and paternal smoking, obesity and a history of asthma and/or allergic rhinitis were not found to be associated with the severity of sleep-disordered breathing

N = 76 (Mild OSA group)

12

Bonsignore et al. 2018 [35]

Italy

N = 5578 (Severe OSA group)

241

53.5 (11.9)

32.9 (7.8)

74.8

Cross-sectional,

AHRQ = 8

Routine

The overall risk of physician-diagnosed asthma was around 5%, with the expected higher risk in women compared with men. The risk of asthma was highest in OSA-free subjects, with a tendency to progressively decrease with increasing OSA severity

N = 7019 (Mild/moderate OSA group)

341

Tveit et al. 2018 [40]

Norway

N = 613 (Moderate/severe OSA group)

86

48.6 (17.6)

N/A

70.6

Cross-sectional,

AHRQ = 7

Routine

There was no association between OSA severity and stroke, COPD, and asthma in the patient group

N = 558 (Mild OSA group)

93

  1. Φpresented as mean (SD); OSA; obstructive sleep apnea. BMI; body mass index. AHI; apnea/hypopnea index. NOS; Newcastle–Ottawa Scale. AHRQ; Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. N/A; not available