Etiología del síndrome de apnea obstructiva del sueño. Revisión de literatura.

Abstract

Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome (OSA) is a respiratory problem with a prevalence of 50% in men and 23% in women. This syndrome involves daytime or night episodes, where respiratory pauses occur in the upper airway called apneas or hypopneas. Prevalent symptoms are related to poor daytime efficiency, headache, irritability, hypersomnia, or somnolence, i.e., characterized by sleepiness during the day and excessive tiredness. This research shows the main causes of the origin of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. An online search of scientific articles was carried out in the following databases: Google Scholar, PubMed, SciELO, Redalyc, and Scopus, most of them published from 2017 to the present (2022). The information obtained summarizes that the etiology of OSA is multifactorial, including respiratory diseases, upper airway disorders, age, obesity, and in some cases, genetic aspects. This literature review has allowed us to know the etiology of OSA, its diagnosis, and appropriate treatment according to the severity of the case, in addition to being a health problem of concern that has a major impact on the patient's life quality. Some of the risk factors include obesity, smoking, hypertension, age, genetics, and gender.