Does Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) fit into Endocrinology

Dhastagir Sultan Sheriff

doi:10.4103/bjem.bjem_17_22

LETTER TO EDITOR

Year : 2023 | Volume : 2 | Issue : 1 | Page : 61

Does Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) fit into Endocrinology

Dhastagir Sultan Sheriff
Department of Biochemistry, Anna Medical College, Mauritius

Date of Submission	22-Nov-2022
Date of Acceptance	12-Dec-2022
Date of Web Publication	05-Jan-2023

Correspondence Address:
Dhastagir Sultan Sheriff
Faculty of Medicine, Benghazi University, Benghazi
Mauritius

Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None

DOI: 10.4103/bjem.bjem_17_22

How to cite this article:
Sheriff DS. Does Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) fit into Endocrinology. Bangladesh J Endocrinol Metab 2023;2:61

How to cite this URL:
Sheriff DS. Does Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) fit into Endocrinology. Bangladesh J Endocrinol Metab [serial online] 2023 [cited 2023 Jun 7];2:61. Available from: https://www.bjem.org/text.asp?2023/2/1/61/367279

Sir,

Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is a medical term that tries to describe the condition that obstruction to normal sleep causes apnea which is associated with many symptoms. The word “apnea” is derived from Greek word for “breathless.” Sleep apnea results because of breathing difficulty while sleeping. This may be due to a block in the airway or the neural control of breathing is disturbed.^[1]

OSAS is associated with the set of symptoms that define the disorder. Therefore, the medical terminology OSAS defines the condition holistically. The condition may be associated with symptoms of metabolic syndrome including insulin resistance. That does not mean we need to find a proper definition to describe the condition which includes all the symptoms related to the condition.

There are already many definitions that classify OSAS in literature.^[2],[3],[4]

Many studies focus purely on obstructive sleep apnea (and its severity as measured by the apnea–hypopnea index [AHI]). Some have tried to include incorporate the daytime pathophysiological consequences into their definition of OSAS. There are conflicting results regarding the various terms in the definition.^[4],[5],[6]

The focus has to be not on the strict definition of OSAS but on the common guidelines as to how to deal with a patient suffering from OSAS. The symptoms or associated conditions may differ from patient to patient. Finally, the clinical acumen of the physician will decide the treatment modality keeping the OSAS symptoms with the help of apnea–hypopnea index [AHI]) to categorize the severity of the condition.

Therefore, the focus has to be updating information regarding universal guidelines and policy to handle the condition rather than restrict it to finding a suitable definition.

The suggestion to introduce a new terminology “The Somnometabolic Syndrome” may be scientific^[6],[7] but it will add more to the scientific jargon rather than treating the patient.

Financial support and sponsorship

Nil.

Conflicts of interest

There are no conflicts of interest.

References

1.	Beekes R. Etymological Dictionary of Greek. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill; 2010.
2.	American Academy of Sleep Medicine. The International Classification of Sleep Disorders, Revised (ICSD-R). Westchester: AASM; 2001. p. 57-8.
3.	American Academy of Sleep Medicine. The International Classification of Sleep Disorders, Second Edition (ICSD-2). Westchester: AASM; 2005. p. 54.
4.	American Academy of Sleep Medicine. The International Classification of Sleep Disorders, Third Edition (ICSD-3). Westchester: AASM; 2014. p. 53-4.
5.	Pevernagie DA, Gnidovec-Strazisar B, Grote L, Heinzer R, McNicholas WT, Penzel T, et al. On the rise and fall of the apnea-hypopnea index: A historical review and critical appraisal. J Sleep Res 2020;29:e13066.
6.	Adams R, Appleton S, Taylor A, McEvoy D, Wittert G. Are the ICSD-3 criteria for sleep apnoea syndrome too inclusive? Lancet Respir Med 2016;4:e19-20.
7.	Kalra S, Agrawal N, Bhattacharya S, Sahay R. The somnometabolic syndrome. Bangladesh J Endocrinol Metab 2022;1:5-6. [Full text]

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