COPD Predicted By Expiratory Snoring in Sleep Disordered Breathing

If you haven’t heard of sleep disordered breathing (SDB), you may want to see some new study findings. According to a recent study, SDB, which is described as expiratory snoring, can help predict obstructive airway disorders such as emphysema, asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Published in the December edition of Annals of the American Thoracic Society, lead study author Abdulrazak Alchakaki, MD, from the John D. Dingell VA Medical Center and colleagues“examined whether the presence of airflow obstruction could be predicted by the presence of expiratory upper airway narrowing during sleep among 93 males with SDB”. Study participants underwent in-lab polysomnography, a sleep study associated with oxygen intake, and complete pulmonary function tests in order to test for airway obstruction.

Researchers found that those participants with expiratory snoring, associated with SDB, “had increased odds of having evidence of lower airway obstruction – with smokers also having increased odds”. Additionally, researchers noted that patients showing these symptoms should be more “carefully assessed for pulmonary disorders such asthma and COPD”. This information will be beneficial for doctors and potential patients moving toward diagnoses and treatment of airway obstruction.

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