Anthropometric Predictors of High Risk of Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome in a Rural Population

Objective. To evaluate which anthropometric parameter better predicts the high risk of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSA) in a rural population. Material and Method. 254 subjects were enrolled. We measured weight, height, waist circumference (WC) and neck circumference (NC) and calculated body mass index (BMI), waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) and neck circumference/height ratio (NC/Height). The risk of OSA was assessed by using Berlin Questionnaire. Results. Subjects with high risk of OSA had a significant higher BMI, WC, WHtR, NC, and NC/Height. A higher percentage of those with large WC (≥80cm and ≥94cm for women and men, respectively) (p<0.001), WHtR ≥0.5 (p<0.001), NC ≥40cm (p=0.004), NC/Height ratio ≥0.23 (p=0.002) had a high risk of OSA. Using ROC curves of anthropometric parameters studied we found that WHtR was the best predictor for high risk of OSA, with AUC of 0.760, 95% CI: 0.699 to 0.815. Conclusions. WHtR was the best predictor for high risk of OSA as assessed by the Berlin Questionnaire.