[The impact of arousal on sleep-related deglutition in patients with obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome].

Objective: To investigate the sleep-related deglutition in patients with obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) and its correlation with sleep stage and cortical arousals. Methods: From December 2015 to September 2017, simultaneous polysomnography and pharyngeal pressure monitoring were performed in 23 adult patients with OSAHS, Mann-Whitney U test were employed to analyze the following parameters: (1) the relationship between arousal and deglutition; (2) the effect of sleep stage on deglutition; (3) The relationship between the frequency of deglutition and the severity of OSAHS. Results: The subjects in this study aged (43±12) years, and the mean apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) was (49.2±27.7) times/hour. A total of 1 382 deglutition were recorded during sleep, with a median of 9.2[5.8, 13.8]times/person. There was a positive correlation between deglutition frequency and AHI( r =0.570, P =0.005) and negatively correlated with oxygen saturation ( r =-0.639, P =0.001). The majority of the deglutition (73.7%) occurred after the respiratory event and in association with respiratory arousal. Deglutition occurred more in Non-rapid eye movement sleep stage 1 (N1) than N2, N3 and REM sleep ( Z =-3.680, P <0.001; Z =-2.746, P =0.006; Z =- 3.490, P <0.001). Conclusions: The occurrence of deglutition in patients with OSAHS is associated with cortical arousals. Deglutition frequency increased with the severity of apnea and affected by sleep staging.