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a Division of
Respiratory Medicine, b Department of
Psychiatry, c University of
Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
Correspondence to: Dr M F Fitzpatrick, Division of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Richardson House, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada K7L 3N6.
Received 16 October 1998; Returned to authors 19 January 1999; Revised version received 15 March 1999; Accepted for publication 11 May 1999
BACKGROUND
Surface
tension forces appear to make a significant contribution to upper
airway closure in patients with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). It is
possible that drying of the upper airway mucosa at night might
contribute to these surface tension forces and the severity of OSA
might therefore change with alteration of the ambient humidity.
METHODSA randomised
single blind crossover study of high ambient relative humidity (HRH)
versus low ambient relative humidity (LRH) was performed in 12 men of
mean (SD) age 49 (9) years with mild OSA (apnoea/hypopnoea index (AHI)
14 (5.2)). On one night patients slept in continuous HRH (85 (4)%,
range 80-93%) and on the other in LRH (16 (4)%, range 11-22%).
RESULTSThe AHI was
similar on the HRH and LRH nights (mean difference 3; 95% CI -2 to 9, p = 0.20) and no statistically significant differences in AHI were
observed on the two nights after standardising for body position and
sleep stage. Sleep stage distribution and the proportion of time spent
in the supine position were similar on the HRH and LRH nights. The
number of non-respiratory arousals was also similar on the two nights.
CONCLUSIONAltering
ambient humidity alone has no significant impact on the severity of OSA.
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  J. P. Kirkness, M. Madronio, R. Stavrinou, J. R. Wheatley, and T. C. Amis Relationship between surface tension of upper airway lining liquid and upper airway collapsibility during sleep in obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome J Appl Physiol, November 1, 2003; 95(5): 1761 - 1766. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
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J. P. Kirkness, P. R. Eastwood, I. Szollosi, P. R. Platt, J. R. Wheatley, T. C. Amis, and D. R. Hillman Effect of surface tension of mucosal lining liquid on upper airway mechanics in anesthetized humans J Appl Physiol, July 1, 2003; 95(1): 357 - 363. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
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