Evaluation of Nocturia in Patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome

Objective: This study aims to increase awareness of nocturia when evaluating and treating patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea syndrome (OSAS). Materials and Methods: A total of 324 patients, who attended our sleep center with the suspected diagnosis of OSAS between June 2012 and December 2015, participated in our research. The patients were divided into 4 groups according to age distribution. Demographic variables, comorbid conditions and severity of OSAS were evaluated retrospectively for their association with the nocturia. Results: In this study, 176 patients had nocturia and 148 patients did not have. There was a statistically significant difference in the presence of nocturia between patients with and without OSAS (p <= 0.001). We found that the prevalence of nocturia was higher in the severe OSAS group than in the moderate and the mild OSAS and normal groups (p <= 0.001). We demonstrated that there were statistically significant differences in the frequency of nocturia and total apnea-hypopnea index between OSAS groups and age groups (p <= 0.001). There was a statistically significant but weak correlation between nocturia and severity of OSAS and between frequency of nocturia and OSAS severity (r= 0.310, p <= 0.001 and r= 0.276, p <= 0.001). This relationship was more significant in women than in men and more significant in patients below age 40 than in the other age groups. However, we could not find any significant difference in the presence of nocturia between patients with and without comorbid diseases. Conclusion: The frequency of nocturia increases as the severity of OSAS increases and especially patients with OSAS below age 40 years should be evaluated for nocturia.