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Abstract
Objective: Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are accepted as two different airway diseases, which have negative effects on exercise capacity and quality of life. The aim of our study was to compare exercise capacity in patients with COPD and OSAS.
Material and Method: Twenty patients with moderate-to-severe OSAS (16M, 4F) and 22 patients with mild-to-moderate COPD (14M, 8F) were included. Pulmonary functions (pulmonary function test), exercise capacity (6 minute walking test-6MWT), dyspnea and leg fatigue severity (Modified Borg Scale), and health-related quality of life (Short Form-36 Quality of Life Questionnaire) were evaluated.
Results: The mean apnea-hypopnea index (AHI), FEV1 of OSAS patients, and the mean FEV1 of COPD patients were 38.4±17.5, 83.2±8.8%, and 73.2±11.3%, respectively. There were correlations between 6MWT distance and AHI, FEV1, FVC, dyspnea and leg fatigue severities at the end of the 6MWT, peripheral oxygen saturation and hearth rate changes after the 6MWT in OSAS patients (p<0.05). The 6MWT distance of the COPD patients was correlated only with FEV1 and FVC values (p≤0.05).
Conclusion: The exercise capacity is at the same level in COPD and OSAS, which have similar negative disease-related effects. It has been seen that exercise capacity is affected by objective parameters which show disease severity in both of the diseases, dyspnea and hemodynamic parameters in OSAS patients. Thus, we suggest that exercise tests should be cattied out with full monitorization, and hemodynamic parameters should be take into consideration in the interpretation of the exercise test results of OSAS patients.