Lumbar spine abnormalities in patients with obstructive sleep apnoea

Previous studies suggested cervical spondylosis as a risk factor for development of obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). We aimed to assess lumbar disc degeneration in patients with OSA and correlate the findings with symptoms and disease severity. Twenty-seven patients with OSA and 29 non-OSA controls underwent sleep studies and lumbar magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and completed the Epworth Sleepiness Scale and the 24-item Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ) questionnaires. Plasma klotho was determined with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Patients with OSA had higher number of disc bulges (4.6 +/- 3.7 vs. 1.7 +/- 2.5, p < 0.01) and anterior spondylophytes (2.7 +/- 4.2 vs. 0.8 +/- 2.1, p < 0.01), increased disc degeneration (total Pfirrmann score 16.7 +/- 4.7 vs. 13.2 +/- 4.1, p < 0.01) and vertebral fatty degeneration (7.8 +/- 4.7 vs. 3.8 +/- 3.7, p < 0.01). There was no difference in the RMDQ score (0/0-3.5/ vs. 0/0-1/, p > 0.05). Markers of OSA severity, including the oxygen desaturation index and percentage of total sleep time spent with saturation < 90% as well as plasma levels of klotho were correlated with the number of disc bulges and anterior spondylophytes (all p < 0.05). OSA is associated with lumbar spondylosis. Our study highlights the importance of lumbar imaging in patients with OSA reporting lower back pain.

Automated summary

This study found that patients with OSA had more lumbar abnormalities compared to non-OSA controls, and markers of OSA severity were correlated with the development of lumbar spondylosis in these patients.