[Clinical characteristics of sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome in women and men]

To study the clinical characteristics of female patients with obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) by epidemiological investigation and polysomnography study,compared with that of male patients.Several indexes and the result of polysomnography study of women and men with OSAHS were compared.The mean age of female patients was 53.4 +/- 15.8 years old, and that of male patients was 41.6 +/- 20.2, the difference was considered significant. The difference of the mean body mass index (BMI) had no significance. The mean apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) of female patients was 32.8 +/- 12.6, and that of male patients was 49.9 +/- 25.8, P0.05, the difference was considered significant. The mean lower oxygen saturation of female patients was (70.0 +/- 11.1)%, and that of male patients was (71.0 +/- 12.2)%, the difference had no significance.Female patients with SAHS are older than male patients, the mean AHI of female patients is lower than that of male patients, but the mean HI (hypopnea index) of female patients is higher than that of male patients.