Effects of respiratory muscle training (RMT) in patients with mild to moderate obstructive sleep apnea (OSA)

摘要

Purpose Different forms of training focusing on the muscles of the upper airways showed limited effects on obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and/or snoring. We investigated the effect of generalized respiratory muscle training (RMT) in lean patients with mild to moderate OSA. Methods Nine male subjects (52.0?±?10.8?years, BMI 29.1?±?2.1?kg/m_(2)) with obstructive sleep apnea (apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) 9–29) participated in an open, single-arm pilot study. After a 1-week build-up phase, patients underwent 4?weeks of normocapnic hyperpnea RMT five times a week for 30?min each. The initial and final measurements comprised polysomnography, pulmonary function tests, Epworth sleepiness scale (ESS), and SF-36 questionnaire (quality of life (QoL) self-assessment). The investigational site was a university-affiliated hospital for pulmonary diseases and sleep medicine, Solingen/Germany. Results Patients trained effectively, seen by a significant ( p ?