Vol. 2, Issue 6 (2013)

Material and Methods: This study was a prospective descriptive study. A total of 100 individuals were referred for an overnight sleep study by the Department of General Medicine at D.D. Medical College and Hospital in Thiruvallur, Tamil Nadu, India. The study was conducted between April 2012 and March 2013.

Results: Patients with hypothyroidism not only have a higher body weight and are more prone to diabetes mellitus and hypertension, but they also have longer durations of time with arterial oxygen saturation levels below 90. Male patients diagnosed with hypothyroidism had a propensity for increased body weight, prolonged periods of arterial oxygen saturation exceeding 90%, and a higher desaturation index. There were no discernible differences observed between euthyroid and hypothyroid instances in female patients with obstructive sleep apnea. Among the 53 patients without OSA, seven were diagnosed with clinical hypothyroidism and were already undergoing thyroxine replacement therapy.

Conclusion: The study indicates that the prevalence of newly diagnosed clinical hypothyroidism in individuals with obstructive sleep apnea was relatively low. However, subclinical hypothyroidism was shown to be common among OSA patients.